King And Queen Of The Pirates
by Bleachanimefan1
Summary: Once there was an legendary pirate by the name of Gol D. Roger. Before he died, he had left a treasure at a place called One Piece. However, many pirates from all over the world has set sail to find it. Monkey D. Luffy and his twin sister, Monkey D. Aya, promised themselves that they will be the ones to find it, and become King and Queen of the Pirates! Oc/One Piece Characters
1. The Adventure Begins!

It was a peaceful and calm day on the seas. The sun was shinning high in the sky. The seagulls were flying overhead. However, there was a huge whirlpool in the ocean. Suddenly, a giant ship passed by and two sailors on the starboard side shivered at the sight of the whirlpool. Then the two of them heard a thump and looked down. Floating in the water, was a barrel. The two men blinked and looked at each other in confusion.

Brushing it off, the two men tried to hoist the barrel out of the water and onto the ship. Another sailor was on the mast, looking around until he spotted something. Another ship heading towards theirs. A pirate ship. It was pink with hearts on it's sails. The ship fired it's cannons at the other ship. "Alarm the captain! The ship's under attack!" Shouted the sailor on the mast. The two men had managed to pull the barrel onto the ship heard the sailor, dropped the barrel onto the deck, which rolled away. The sailors ran into the ship's ballroom.

"The ship's under attack by pirates!" Exclaimed the sailors.

Everyone screamed and started panicking and running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. However, one girl was not afraid. She had short, light orange hair and light brown eyes. As soon as she heard that there was another ship, she darted out of the room.

Suddenly, the doors busted open as it was kicked and the ballroom was filled with blood-thirsty, vicious looking pirates. They all smirked at the scared passengers. "Heh, don't worry. We ain't gonna kill ya. Though, we will take all the rare stuff you got here." snickered one of the pirates.

"Anyone who tries to resist will be spending the rest of their lives at the bottom of the ocean," A new voice shouted.

A large heavy set woman walked into the room. She had greasy looking hair and beady narrow eyes. On her head was a white cowgirl hat and was wielding a spiked mace in her hand. Everyone trembled, not moving a muscle. The orange haired girl watched from a far while she hid, with a light smile on her face. She tore off her dress and was now wearing a blue and white stripped shirt with black shorts and a bandanna tied to her head. She ran off the ship and jumped onto the other one, while everyone was distracted.

During the chaos, the barrel had rolled itself into the kitchen. The ship's kitchen doors open and a small timid looking boy walked into the room. He had light pink hair and grey eyes and was wearing blue glasses and a cabin boy's uniform. "Is anyone here?" The boy asked. He received no response. He sighed and started looking around the kitchen. Then he spotted a barrel.

"Wow, that's the biggest barrel I ever seen," He said to himself as he started to push the barrel. Suddenly, three pirates blocked his away as he did as they walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Coby. You're not hiding from us, are ya?" One of the pirates asked. Coby began to sputter. His whole body began to tremble, terrified.

"N-n-n-n-o way, g-g-guys! I-I was just talking to this b-barrel I found back to the ship. It looks like it's full of s-sake." The three pirates smirked.

"Sake, huh? Why don't we _inspect _it to make sure. Are you with me, boys?" One of the pirates asked as he took the barrel.

"But Lady Alvida will kill us!" Shouted Coby. The other pirates smirked.

"We won't be killed as long as you keep your trap shut! Now quiet!" Snapped one of the pirates. Coby trembled. The biggest pirate cracked his knuckles. "Hold on, boys. Let me open this the old fashion way," He said as he raised his fist and threw them down onto the barrel.

"I SLEPT SOOO GRREATTT!"

Suddenly, the barrel's lid popped open as someone busted out of it and shot out, colliding his fist with the bigger pirates face, knocking him out. The other two pirates and Coby gasped as their mouth's dropped as they gaped at the boy in the barrel. The boy looked like he was seventeen. He had short black hair, light tan skin, and small beady onyx-black eyes. Under his left eye was a small scar. He wore a red vest with a light blue shorts which reached his knees, straw sandals, and resting on his head was a straw hat. He blinked before he looked around at his surroundings.

"Who's he?" He asked as he saw the pirate he knocked out on the floor. He looked and also saw the other two pirates and Coby. "Who the hell are you guys?" He asked.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" shouted the other two pirates, angrily. The boy stepped out of the barrel.

"Your friend will catch a cold if he sleeping like that," He said.

"You're the one who knocked him out!" Shouted the other two pirates. One of them pulled out his sword. "Hold on. Are you playing with us, when you know we're vicious pirates!?" He demanded.

"I'm starved. Is there any food on this ship?" The boy asked Coby, ignoring the other pirates.

"I'm talking to you, brat!" Shouted the pirate as he and the other one raised their swords and slashed at the boy. Crack! Somehow, their swords broke in two. The two pirates stumbled back as they gaped in shock seeing that the boy was unharmed.

"What's wrong with you guys?" The boy asked.

"W-who are you? _What _are you?" Asked the pirates as they stared at the boy in horror. The boy brushed off the dirt off of his vest and smiled.

"Me? Oh, my name is Money D. Luffy! Hi!" Said Luffy as he grinned widely, showing his teeth. The pirates screamed in fear as they grabbed their knocked out comrade and ran out of the room, terrified.

"What...what just happened?" Asked Coby. Luffy shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me." He said. Coby stood up.

"Quick! You gotta run! If they come back with their buddies, then you'll be killed on the spot!" He shouted. Luffy smiled.

"I don't care. Where's the food? I'm hungry." He said.

"How can you not care?! They are hundreds of them and they're willing to kill anybody!" Shouted Coby. Luffy wasn't listening. His nose twitched as he smelled a wonderful scent. He tried to walk towards the source while Coby was trying to hold him back. Luffy made it to the cellar and his eyes lit up.

"Food, hooray!" Luffy cheered. He ran around the room with his mouth drooling. Coby looked around making sure no one was coming as Luffy began to dig into a crate full of apples.

"Um...hi, my name is Coby. You're Luffy, right? It was really cool what you did back there." Said Coby as Luffy wolfed down the apples.

"These are so awesome." Luffy said as he wiped off the juice from his lips. He smiled. "_I bet she would love some. I'd better save some for later." _He thought as he stashed some in the pockets of his vest. "So, are we on a pirate ship or what?" Asked Luffy as he continued to eat.

"No. We are on a passenger ship that's being raided by pirates. Pirates under control of Lady Alvida." Coby said.

"Ah, I don't care about that. I just wanna know if there are any little boats on this ship," Luffy said.

"I think there might be a few," Coby said.

"Great! I need a new one 'cause my old one got sucked in by some whirlpool." Luffy said.

"You mean that huge one outside! And you survived?" Coby asked. Luffy smiled.

"Yep. You can say it was a great way to wake up after a long nap," He laughed. Coby smiled timidly. "So are you a pirate or a passenger?" Luffy asked. Coby looked down.

"Neither. I'm just some cabin boy. I was forced to be one because Lady Alvida's pirates captured me. They found out I was a great navigator, so, they let me live. That was two years ago." He confessed, sadly. Luffy stopped eating.

"You're pretty stupid, you know that?" He asked bluntly. Coby sunk his head.

"Gee, thanks for your honesty." He said, sarcastically.

"If you don't like it here so much, then leave," Said Luffy. Coby shook his head.

"No way! There's no way I can do that! I can't!" He yelled. Luffy smiled.

"Ha! You're stupid and cowardly. I hate people like you," He joked. Coby sulked then he smiled weakly.

"Heh, you're right. If I had any courage, I could sail away in a barrel and be free. I could live out my dream." He said. Luffy was quiet. "Oh, what about you, Luffy? What's the thing that drove you to sail on the seas?" Asked Coby. Luffy grinned.

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" He exclaimed. Coby's mouth dropped.

"K-King? Are you serious?" He asked quietly with disbelief.

"Yep. You heard me," Luffy said, smiling.

"But-but that would mean you're a pirate too," Said Coby.

"That's right." Said Luffy.

"Your crew?" Asked Coby. Luffy shook his head.

"I don't have one yet, well, except for one,-"

Suddenly, the door slammed open and the two looked to see a girl standing there, sopping wet from head to toe as her clothes were completely drenched. Coby had to do a double take as his eyes darted back and forth at Luffy then back towards the girl. He saw that the girl was identical to Luffy. A twin in fact.

The only thing that was different, was that she had long black hair, which reach the middle of her back. Her skin was a lighter tone to her brother. It was a sickly pale white, which looked like she didn't go outside much. She was wearing a blue shirt with short sleeves and brown pants which reached down to her ankles and black sandals. What really draw his attention, was that she also had shimmering sea foam green eyes, instead dark black, like Luffy's. Then the girl narrowed her eyes as she glared at Luffy. She began to stalk over to them.

"Aya! You made it!" Luffy shouted happily.

"IDIOT!" Aya smacked Luffy hard on the back of his head with her fist.

Coby immediately backed away from the two, watching in fear. Aya grabbed Luffy by his shirt and began shaking him violently like a rag doll. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET HERE?!"

"You're alive aren't ya?" Luffy groaned.

Aya repeatedly smacked him. "I had to swim across with sea infested sharks! Nearly drowned in the whirlpool! And almost died in a barrage of gunfire! All because of your stupidity!" She screamed.

"Love you too, sis," Luffy smiled and laughed. His face was now swollen and beaten up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an apple holding it to Aya's face "Want one?" Asked Luffy. Aya blinked as she stared at the apple. She felt her stomach growl at the sight of it.

Aya rolled her eyes and sighed. She snatched the apple from his hand and dropped Luffy as she let go of his shirt. He slumped to the floor, rubbing his head. "This doesn't mean I'm letting you off easy," Aya murmured as she took a bite of the apple. "You're still in the dog house." Luffy smiled.

Then the girl noticed Coby cowering in the corner.

"And who the hell are you?" Aya asked. Coby jumped when she spoke to him.

"C-Coby," Coby sputtered, "Who are you?"

"I'm Aya, I'm this idiots sister," Aya said as she jerked her thumb at Luffy. "I'm gonna be Queen of the Pirates."

"Q-Queen?!" Coby sputtered.

"Geez, what a wimp," Aya said as she finished her apple and tossed the core away.

"So, you two are gonna be King and Queen of the Pirates. You're talking about gaining the treasure of fame, wealth, and power! The treasure you want is the One Piece!" Coby shouted. Luffy smiled.

"Yeah, you've got it all right," Luffy said.

"But, practically all the pirates in the world are looking for that treasure!" Coby yelled.

"Yeah, so?" Aya asked, shrugging.

"No way! There's no way you could survive them! They're ruthless and mean and they'll kill you right where you-oww!" Coby shouted as Aya and Luffy both punched him on the head. "Why did you hit me?" Coby asked as he rubbed his head.

"Cause I felt like it." The two twins said together.

"Ah well, I'm used to stuff like that. My shipmates bash me on the head all the time," Coby mumbled.

"It's not about if I can. I'm doing this because I want to," Luffy said. "My sister and I decided long ago that we wanted to be King and Queen of the Pirates. If we have to die fighting for that, then we die," said Luffy as he placed his hat on his head. Coby stood frozen in his spot.

"Well, I'm off. Now that my belly's full, I might as well get my new boat. I bet if I ask nice enough, they'll give me it," Luffy said as he and his sister began to walk out of the room.

"I never though about it like that. If I had that much courage, then do you think I could do it too?" asked Coby. Luffy and Aya turned to look at him.

"Do what?" asked Aya.

"Do you think...do you think I could ever join the Marines?" asked Coby. Luffy tilted his head.

"The Marines?" He asked.

"Y-yeah! Catching bad guys is the only thing I ever wanted to do! It's been my dream ever since I was a child! Do you think I could do it?" asked Coby. Luffy smiled and shrugged.

"I don't know. Do what you want to do." He said. Coby nodded.

"Ok, I will then! I won't be a cabin boy for the rest of my life! I'll leave and then become a Marine and then I can capture Alvida!" He shouted. Suddenly, the room started to shake then the ceiling came crashing down. As the dust settled, it was revealed to be Alvida.

"Who is it you're going to capture, Coby? You really think that these pieces of crap are going to help you!" Roared Alvida. Coby quivered at the sight of her. Alvida looked up and saw Luffy and Aya. "My guess is you're not Zoro, the pirate hunter, aren't you?" She asked Luffy.

"Zoro?" Luffy asked, tilting his head, blinking.

"Who's he?" Aya asked.

"Coby! Who is the most beautiful of all the seas!?" Demanded Alvida. Coby flinched and nervously looked around.

Aya leaned and whispered to Luffy "She's kidding, right?" She asked.

"w-w-w-well, um...I, um,"

"Hey, Coby, who's the old hag?" Luffy asked. A dead silence filled the room with Alvida's and Coby's mouth dropped open. Aya was laughing. Alvida grinded her teeth as many veins appeared, pulsing on her face.

"Don't you ever think before you speak?" Asked Aya, still laughing as she tried to catch her breath.

"What?" Luffy asked as he shrugged his shoulders. "She's huge! This lady's a bloated whale!" Aya lost it and keeled over in laughter.

"Luffy, shut up!" Coby shouted.

"YOU LITTLE RAT!" Shouted Alvida. She brings her mace down on top of Luffy, narrowly missing him as he dodged it. Luffy grabbed Aya's wrist and Coby's shoulder and jumped out of the cellar and on to the deck. He landed on his feet and smirked at Alvida's crew. Several men charged at them. Aya pushed Coby away as a pirate came at her with a sword. She dodged out of the way as she stepped to the side and the sword sliced in the air between her and Coby, missing them. Coby stared in wide eyes, with his knees shaking. Aya quickly kneed the pirate in the gut and he fell down and she kicked him on the back of his head, knocking him out. Coby scurried away as the pirate fell at his feet. Several pirates charged at Luffy but he managed to evade them. A pirate was sneaking up from behind, but Luffy dodged out of the way.

"How rude. Attacking from behind is cheating," Luffy said. He turned and saw more pirates glaring at him, with large swords. He blinked and started running. "Why is everyone ganging up on me?!" He shouted as the pirates were right behind him, chasing after him. Then Luffy grabbed onto a post and continued running. His arm began to stretch as he did. The pirates stopped, and watched in confusion then saw Luffy coming back towards them as he slingshot himself. They tried to run away but it was already to late. Luffy smirked. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" He shouted as he charged through the men. All of them were knocked out from the blow as they fell to the floor one by one. Alvida and Coby stared in shock and awe. Aya smiled. Luffy smiled and fixed his hat.

"L-Luffy, what are you?" Asked Coby.

Luffy smiled and pulled on the corners of his lips and stretched them. "I'm a rubber man," He said. Coby stared at him with disbelief while Alvida jumped onto the deck, shaking the boat. Coby trembled and he ran behind Luffy and Aya. Alvida glared at the two of them.

"So, you've eaten one of the legendary Devil Fruit, haven't you?" She asked. Luffy smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. It was the Gum-Gum one," He said.

"Ah, I've heard rumors that they existed. But I never seen evidence of them until today. You're very skilled for just a young man. Tell me, are you a bounty hunter or a Marine?" Asked Alvida.

"We're pirates." Said Aya.

"Pirates? By yourselves? How stupid are you?" Taunted Alvida.

"Who are you calling stupid, fatty?" Asked Aya. The veins on Alvida's face looked like they were about to pop as she glared at the girl, angrily.

"It's just us for now. But we're going to start building up a crew. Maybe ten or more guys in a week or two. I don't know yet," Luffy said, shrugging.

"Ha! Tell me, if we're both pirates, and we're not under the same flag," Alvida held up her mace. "That make's us both enemies, correct?" She asked.

"Luffy, Aya,..." Coby whispered. Luffy winked at him. Coby blinked before remembering Luffy's words._ "My sister and I decided long ago that we wanted to become King and Queen of the Pirates. If we have to die fighting for that, the we die."_

"Well, Coby? What is it you wanted to say?" Alvida asked, smugly. Coby blinked then he glared at Alvida.

"YOU'RE THE BIGGEST AND UGLIEST PIRATE OF ALL THE SEAS!" He shouted. Silence filled the whole ship as Alvida and her crew jaws dropped. Alvida looked even more madder than she did before. Luffy threw his head back laughing, really hard. Aya covered her mouth and snickered.

"What did you say?" Growled Alvida.

"I'm leaving and joining the Marines! And I'm going to lock away dirty pirates like you!" Shouted Coby.

"Do you have _any _idea what you're saying to me?" Alvida growled.

"I know what I said and I'll do what I want! I'll go to the Marines and I'll join them! And as soon as I do that, I'm gonna catch your fat ass first!" Shouted Coby. Alvida roared in anger and thrusted her mace at Coby. Coby froze in his spot.

"Spoken like a true Marine!" Shouted Luffy as he stood in front of Coby. The mace came down on his head. Alvida gave a shocked look, seeing that Luffy was unharmed. Luffy grinned. "That won't work. _I'm _made of rubber," He said in a sing-song voice. He threw his fist back and it stretched all the way into the sky. "Gummm-Gummm..." Luffy started as his fist came back. "PISTOL!" Shouted Luffy as his fist connected in Alvida's gut as he punched her, sending her flying. Aya smiled seeing Alvida sail off in the sky, drifting farther away. Coby and the crew stood with a dumbfound look on their faces.

"Hey!" The crew flinched when Luffy turned to them. "Go and find a boat and give it to Coby. He's leaving the ship and joining the Marines. Don't stop him alright?" He asked.

"Y-Yes!" The crew stuttered. Coby blinked before smiling.

"Thanks, Luffy, Aya," He stuttered. Luffy smiled. Suddenly, there were cannon balls being fired at the ship, landing near it. The ship tilted side to side as the rough waves hit against it. Luffy, Aya and Coby looked and saw a Marine ship a few feet away.

"Those are Marine boats." Said Coby.

"Sweet! What luck, huh? Let's say our hellos!" Said Luffy as he ran towards to where a group of boats were.

"Luffy, we'll get arrested on the spot! Think about it first!" Aya scolded.

"Wait up! We'll get captured if they spot us!" Shouted Coby as he followed after her. The three jumped into the boat and the boat went crashing into the water. Aya and Coby nearly fell overboard as it did. Coby clinged to Aya and she tried to get him off of her. As the two fought, Luffy noticed another boat next to theirs and saw the orange hair girl. Their eyes met each other briefly before the girl started paddling away, leaving them.

* * *

Luffy, Aya and Coby were now sailing in the middle of the ocean. "I can't believe we managed to escape." Coby said as he looked at the water.

"Yeah, what fun!" Luffy exclaimed as he laughed.

"Hey, you two. If you're searching for the elusive One Piece, that means you're heading for the Grand Line, right?" Coby asked. The two nodded. "You know, a lot of people call that place the Pirate's Graveyard." Coby said grimly.

"Yep. That's why we need a really strong crew. You guys were talking about some pirate hunter, right? What's he like?" asked Luffy.

"Yeah, who is he?" Aya asked.

"Oh, you mean Roronoa Zoro? Last time I heard, he was held prisoner at some Marine base." Coby said. Luffy looked a little disappointed.

"Oh, so a weakling, right?" He asked. Coby stood up and shook his head.

"No way! Roronoa Zoro is as vicious and violent as a demon and three times as horrifying! Wait, why are you asking about him anyway?" Coby asked. Luffy made a grin.

"I guess if he's strong as you say, he could be good enough to join my crew," He said.

"Yeah, he sounds like a bad ass!" Aya said, agreeing. Coby nearly fell out of the boat.

"You're kidding, right? He could kill you two with one strike," He said. Luffy shrugged.

"You never know. He might jump at the chance to join us," Luffy said.

"No way! He's one of the most wanted men ever! He's big and mean and-oww!" Shouted Coby as the two twins hit him on the head again.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"'Cause we felt like it." The two twins said together. Aya smirked. "Ow!" Luffy groaned, as he rubbed his arm as Aya punched him hard.

"Jinx!" She exclaimed.

While Luffy and Coby stared at the ocean, Aya leaned back and reached into pocket and pulled out a necklace with a round gold coin attached to it. She held up into the sky staring at it, twirling with her fingers. The coin had a skull in the center of it. _"I wonder what the One Piece is?"_ She thought as she stared at the coin.

"What's that?" A voice called out to her.

Aya looked to see Coby looking at the coin. She sat up showing it to him. "I don't know. It's something I had ever since I was a baby." Aya said. Coby took it looking over the details of the coin, tracing his finger of the rough and detailed edges. "It's beautiful," Coby said as he stared.

"Yeah, it's great," Aya said sarcastically. "Can I have it back?" She asked holding her hand out.

"I'd give it back if I were you," Luffy laughed. "The last time I tried to look at it and wouldn't give it back. Aya tried to break my arm."

Coby yelped and immediately gave Aya back the coin. She took it and put it back into her pocket. The three of them sailed off heading towards the Marine base.


	2. Enter The Great Swordsman! Roronoa Zoro!

"What a day! It's gorgeous!" Exclaimed Luffy. He, Aya, and Coby have been sailing for some time and the weather was steady and clear. Coby nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah. As long as the weather goes this good and we take this path, we'll be at the Marine base in no time," He said. Luffy turned to him with his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You mean it? Hot dog! You're the best, Coby! How do you even know?" asked Luffy.

"I know this stuff because all sailors must know their ways of the seas," Said Coby. Luffy turned back to the ocean and laughed.

"That's what I've always been telling him, but my big brother always rush into things with thinking. By the way, how are we going to get into a Marine base without getting caught, Luffy? We're pirates, remember?" Said Aya. Luffy didn't answer. "Anndd, he's not listening..."

"I don't see what's to be so perky right now, Luffy. Besides...at the Marine base," Coby said with a frightened look on his face. "They're holding the great pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro. This is the man who diced up his bounties like an animal bent on carnage. A blood thirsty beast. He's been called nothing less than a living breathing demon in human form. Like he was sent straight from hell."

"All of the more reason to check him out." Said Aya.

* * *

"Alright! We're here! The Marine Base City!" Yelled Luffy, excitedly as the boat pulled up to the port to a small island with many buildings . They docked it and Coby tied up the boat to a post. He, Luffy, and Aya walked around, exploring the city. Luffy's head started darting around wildly at all the booths and people. Aya was looking around, keeping a look out, while Coby looked uncomfortable.

"Luffy, seriously! You two are out of your mind if you think this guy is gonna want to join your crew," Said Coby.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. I first gotta see if he's a good guy," Luffy said as he walked ahead.

"Plus, we need to see how tough he is," Aya added.

"He's imprisoned because he's obviously not!" Coby shouted as Luffy bought a pear and took at bite out of it.

"Hey, is that pirate hunter Zoro around here?" He asked the shop keeper. The lady who was selling the fruits and some other people jumped back in shock. They stared at Luffy with wide eyes as their bodies shook in fear, leaving the three, confused by what happened. Luffy blinked. Aya walked by him and whispered in Luffy's ear. "Yeah, we shouldn't probably go around announcing out loud that we're looking for him." She said. Then she smacked Luffy on his head. "Idiot."

"Maybe we shouldn't mention the name Zoro around here." Coby whispered, suggestively. Luffy shrugged and the three began walking again. Aya felt like she was being watched. She saw some people giving her suspicious looks. Aya heard two men were whispering to each other.

"Do you think she's a witch?" asked one of the men.

"What are you whispering about?!" shouted Aya, angrily. The two men jumped and trembled in fear. They ran away from her. "RUN! SHE'LL PUT A CURSE ON US!" Shouted one of the men as they ran. Aya rolled her eyes, following after Luffy and Coby.

"Let's head to the base. You said you wanted to be a Marine, right?" Luffy asked.

"I do, Luffy, I'm just not that sure if I'm ready. From what I've heard, the man who runs the base is someone called Captain Morgan." Said Coby. Once again, the people jumped back when Coby mentioned Morgan's name. Coby and Luffy blinked. The three of them continued walking. Aya looked over her shoulder seeing the people still shaking in fear.

"Strange town," She mumbled under her breath.

"Ha-ha! This this town is such a weird place!" Luffy laughed as the three continued walking. Coby was lost in thought.

"That was strange. I understand why they're afraid of Zoro, him being a killer and all, but why did they get scared when I said the Marine captain's name?" He asked.

"Maybe they did it for the fun of it." Suggested Luffy.

"How does that make any sense?" Asked Coby.

"He's probably corrupted," Aya added.

Coby stopped in his tracks and glared at Aya. "You take that back!" He shouted.

"What? All I'm saying is that he's probably abusing his power," said Aya.

"The Marines don't do that!" Coby shouted.

Aya smirked then leaned in toward Coby's face then flicked her finger on his forehead. "Face reality, kid, some people do that," She said. "Especially the higher ups."

"You shut your mouth right now!" Growled Coby.

"Why, you wanna fight me? How cute!" Aya laughed.

"D-Don't you touch me!" Coby shouted. Aya took a step closer to him and he backed away.

"Why? Scared that I'll get my evil pirate cooties all over you?" Aya taunted.

"Shut up!" Growled Coby.

Luffy let out a whistle. "Wow, this must be the place!" He said. The two stopped and looked to see a huge gate in front of them. It was the Marine's base. Coby looked like he was going to cry.

"I...made it...thank you so much, Luffy, Aya. I-I can't believe we're going to have to go our own ways even though I find you as my best frie-"

"Where's the foothold or something?" Asked Luffy as he tried to climb over the stone wall.

"Get off of there, Luffy! Or they'll see you and you'll get arrested!" Yelled Coby.

Aya sighed. "What an idiot..."

Luffy blocked the sunlight with his hand as he scoured "Ok, so where's that demon?"

"They're probably hiding him in an underground prison cell or something. They wouldn't just show him out and the-"

"FOUND HIM!" Exclaimed Luffy. Coby and Aya managed to climb up the wall and looked over to see a man far off in the distance, tied to a post. He was wearing a black bandanna on his head, a white shirt and dark green pants and black boots.

"That's him, right, Coby?" Asked Luffy. Coby trembled in fear.

"If we untie those ropes, he could just walk away, right?" Asked Luffy.

"No way! If we do that, he'll just kill us all with one strike!" Shouted Coby. Luffy grinned.

"Don't worry, me and my sis are really strong, so there's nothing to be afraid of." He said.

"You both have lost your marbles!" Shouted Coby.

"Hey, you three," They hear a voice call out to them, roughly. Coby flinched. "You're eyesores. Get lost." Muttered Zoro. Coby yelped and grabbed Luffy's arm.

"Come on! Let's just go, Luffy! There's no way a criminal like him would want to be on your crew!" He yelled. Then, a ladder landed near Luffy and Aya looked and saw a little girl climbing up it. The little girl turned to the three and shushed them. Then she climbed over the wall, holding a small package in her hands.

"We gotta save her or else she'll be killed by the Marines or the demon himself!" Yelled Coby.

Neither, Luffy or Aya made a move. They watched as the little girl run over to Zoro and smiled at him. "What do you want?" Zoro asked. The little girl smiled.

"I thought you'd be getting hungry now. So I made you some rice balls." She said, unwrapping the package.

"You gotta death wish, kid? Get lost." Said Zoro. The girl held out two rice balls to him.

"But, you haven't eaten in a long time. So here. I made them myself. It's my first try though." She said.

"Listen, kid. You're really starting to bug the living hell out of me. So why don't you just scram." Zoro threatened.

"But-!"

"Do not make me kick your ass, little girl! Get lost!" Yelled Zoro.

"Now, now, no one likes a bully," a loud annoying voice called out. Zoro glared as a man with two Marine soldiers walked up. "Roronoa Zoro, you seem to be handling the situation well, aren't you?" asked the man.

"Who's the other weird guy?" Asked Luffy. Coby sighed in relief.

"Thank god. He looks like he's with the Marines. At least we know the little girl will be safe." He said. Aya frowned as she stared at the man. She didn't like him. Not one bit.

"I'm not so sure about that," Said Aya.

"What do you mean?" Asked Coby.

"I don't like the looks of this guy." Said Aya. The man took a rice ball from the girl.

"Yum. Some tasty rice balls." He said. "That's not for you!" Cried the little girl. The man took a bite out of it. His face twisted with disgust. He spat out the rice ball and threw it to the ground along with the second one and stomped on it.

"No! Stop that! Please!" Cried the little girl.

"You imbecile! You filled this rice ball with sugar! It's supposed to be salt!" Yelled the man as he stomped one last time, destroying the rice balls.

"But-but-" The little girl was about to cry. "I worked so hard to make those."

"Too bad, brat. Dispose of her immediately or my father will have your heads." The man commanded. Aya growled as her hands gripped the scaffolding in anger. She was about to move, but Luffy grabbed her shoulder so she wouldn't jump over the wall. One of the soldiers hesitantly grabbed the little girl.

"I'm sorry. Just curl into a ball, okay?" asked the man as he threw the girl. The little girl cried as she was thrown over the wall.

"Luffy! Catch her!" shouted Aya. Luffy quickly stretched his arms out and grabbed the little girl. The two landed on the ground roughly. Luffy's hat fell off as well.

"Thanks, mister!" said the little girl. Luffy blinked before smiling.

"No problem." He said. Coby and Aya ran over to the two.

"Luffy! Are you guys, okay? God, how can that man be so cruel?" asked Coby as he checked over the little girl to see any signs of injury.

"I said it once, kid," said Aya. "Corruption."

"You shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Growled Coby.

"Man, you're stubborn!" shouted Aya. "What's it going to take for you to get it through your thick head!?" Luffy picked his hat up as he stood up, ignoring the two who were scrabbling with each other.

"Damn you." Muttered Zoro under his breath. He glared at the snickering man.

"Trying to keep your composer, Roronoa? My, you really wanna get out of here, don't you?" asked the man.

"That's right. I'll make through the month. Just you watch." Muttered Zoro. The man began snorting as he howled in laughter.

"Yeah, right! Keep dreaming, Roronoa!" snorted the man as he and his men walked away.

Coby sighed in relief seeing that the girl was unharmed. "Okay, you look fine. How can that man be so heartless?" Coby asked himself. He and Aya looked around and saw that Luffy was nowhere to be seen. " What the?! Now where'd he go?" He asked.

Zoro sighed as he closed his eyes, trying to gather up his thoughts. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched. He opened his eyes and saw a boy wearing a straw hat standing in front of him. Zoro blinked. Luffy looked at him with a calm look on his face. "So...I hear you're a bad guy," He said.

"You're still here?" asked Zoro, bored.

"You're tied up here for the whole world to see and for what? Nothing. Are you sure as strong as they say?" asked Luffy.

"Mind your own business, kid," Muttered Zoro. Luffy sighed and walked closer to Zoro.

"If I were you, I'd probably starve in three days," Luffy joked. Zoro smirked.

"Heh, I have more spirit than you know. Which is how I'll survive this ordeal. This, I swear." He said, confidently. Luffy grinned.

"Ha! You're such a weirdo!" He joked as he began to walk away.

"Wait, hold on." Zoro called out. Luffy stopped. Zoro looked down at his feet. "Could you...pick that up for me?" He asked, seeing the dirty mud covered rice ball on the ground. Luffy blinked and picked it up.

"You wanna eat this? But, it looks ruined already and mostly a ball of mud-"

"Shut up and give it to me, kid!" yelled Zoro. Shrugging, Luffy walked up to Zoro, and tossed the rice ball into the swordsman's mouth. It tasted horrible but at least it was better than starving to death. Zoro coughed as he felt some dirt in his mouth. Luffy giggled.

"You should've listened to me!" said Luffy in a giggling tone.

"No, it was good. Tell that kid that I said thanks." Muttered Zoro. Luffy walked away, tilting his straw hat.

* * *

Luffy, Aya and Coby walked with the little girl, which they discovered that her name was Rika. "You mean it?! He said that?!" asked the little girl.

"Yep. And ate it all up." said Luffy, smiling. Rika beamed as she smiled happily. Coby placed a finger on his chin, thinking.

"Huh, I'm starting wonder if Roronoa Zoro is as bad as everyone says." He said. Rika shook her head.

"No way! Big brother Zoro is a good guy! After all..." The little girl looked to the ground. "He saved this town." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" asked Aya. Rika twiddled her thumbs.

"It's all Helmeppo's fault. He's the son of Captain Morgan. Three weeks ago, he brought a vicious wolf into town and it terrified the living daylights out of everyone. But, then, Zoro came and he nearly finished off Helmeppo. That big meanie threatened to kill me and my mom. But, he said that if Zoro could survive being tied up to that big post for a month, then he could be let go. But, Helmeppo keeps cheating by trying to break Zoro's spirit. It's...it's not fair!" cried Rika as she began to sob.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash that came from the little girl's family restaurant. The four ran towards the building. It was Helmeppo. He was throwing orders and terrorizing and giving death threats to everyone. Luffy and Aya clenched their fists as they watched in anger. Aya gritted her teeth as she glared at the man.

"I am incredibly bored now and I'm trying to find something fun to do. I suppose I can just have Zoro executed. Oh, wouldn't _that _be hysterical!" snorted the blond as he threw his head back and laughed.

Suddenly, a fist shot out and cracked Helmeppo right in the jaw as Aya punched him and his face slammed into a wall. Coby's mouth dropped in horror while Luffy stared in silence at his sister. Helmeppo slumped on the floor as he glared up at Aya. She was breathing heavily and gritted her teeth as she seethed in rage, looking down at this disgusting excuse for a human being. "H-How dare you?! Y-You hit me!" exclaimed Helmeppo as his men tried to help him up. He gaped at her in shock, staring at her sea foam green eyes. "Y-You witch!"

"No, how dare _**you **_call yourself a Marine. You disgusting piece of trash," said Aya as she glared at him. She raised her fist getting ready to punch him again but Coby grabbed her arm, holding Aya back.

"Aya! Stop it! What's wrong with you?!" asked Coby.

"I'm teaching this scum a lesson," said Aya. "This guy is a no-good, piece of shit!"

"You little brat! Do you know who I am!" demanded Helmeppo.

"I don't give a rat's ass who you are!" Shouted Aya.

"YOU'LL GIVE A DAMN WHEN YOUR HEAD HANGS FROM THE GALLOWS!" yelled Helmeppo.

"I'd like to see you try, punk!" Shouted Aya.

"Aya! Stop it! Why are you trying to pick a fight with this guy?!" Shouted Coby.

"Well, I guess that settles it," said Luffy. Coby turns to look at him, while holding Aya back. "I've made up my mind, Coby. Today, Zoro joins my crew." said Luffy.

* * *

_"You're weak, Zoro. Nothing ever changes."_

_Zoro's eyes shot open as bullets of sweat ran down his face. Zoro took calm breaths trying to steady his heart._

_"I... can't die here. I made... a promise," thought the swordsman. Then a shadow stood over him. Zoro looked up to see Luffy again._

_"_You again. Don't you have things to do?" asked Zoro, irritated.

"I'll untie you. As long as you promise to join my crew." said Luffy as he took a step towards the swordsman.

"Your what?" Asked Zoro.

"Me and my sister are running a pirate crew and we need people to join," said Luffy. Zoro smirked.

"No way. As if I'd stoop to that level. Joining a pirate crew is the most stupidest thing I've ever heard. Screw that business." He said, turning his head away.

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" asked Luffy.

"They're lowlifes. Joining them is the last thing I'd ever do." said Zoro. Luffy smiled.

"Come on. Everyone knows that your some kind of killer with a crave of bloodlust," He said.

"People could say what they want to say, but there is not a single thing in my life I regret. I'll make through this month and I'll accomplish what I desire." Said Zoro

Luffy blinked. "That's cool. But I still decided that your joining my crew," He said, grinning.

"What?! You can't do that!" Zoro yelled. Luffy grinned.

"I've heard that you're one of the best swordsman out there," He said.

"I am! It's just that Hel-whatever that bastard's name is took my katana." Said Zoro. Luffy winked.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna have to go get it then," He said.

"What?" Asked Zoro

"If I get your katana back, then you're joining my crew." Said Luffy.

"You're really starting to piss me off, kid!" yelled Zoro. Luffy giggled as he ran off. "Hey, genius. You're going the wrong way." Said Zoro. Luffy paused.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" Yelled Luffy as he flinged himself past Zoro. Zoro stared in disbelief.

"What the-what the hell is this guy?" He asked himself.

* * *

Luffy hunched over, panting. "Sheesh, where is that idiot, that stole Zoro's swords?" He asked himself. Then he heard several voices above him. "Huh, wonder what's going on up there? Might as well check it out." Said Luffy. He stretched his arms to the roof edge of the Marine base.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" He yelled as he flew up. But, he was gaining too much speed. "Too far! Too far! Too far!" yelled Luffy as he flew higher. The soldiers on the roof looked up and saw Luffy as he grabbed on to the rope they were using to pull a statue. He breaks off a piece of the statue as he landed on the roof. The soldiers gaped in horror, gasping at Luffy. Luffy looked at the men, scratching his head. "Whoops! Sorry about that!" He said, sheepishly.

A man glared at him furiously. He was huge and had blond hair and one of his hand was an axe. "Seize him at once! I want to kill him myself!" ordered the man.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Shouted the Marine soldiers.

"That's him! He's friends with the witch who hit me!" Yelled Helmeppo.

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Yelled Luffy. He grabbed Helmeppo in a choke hold, dragging him off inside the Marine base.

"After him!" Shouted the Marine captain. The Marine soldiers chased after the Straw hat pirate. Inside the base, Luffy dragged Helmeppo down the hallways. Helmeppo was crying in terror as he did.

"Hey, dude. Tell me where you're keeping Zoro's katana." Said Luffy.

"Ok! Ok! I'll tell you!" Cried Helmeppo. Luffy stopped, listening.

"Ok, so where is it?" He asked. Helmeppo pointed in a direction.

"In my room. We just passed it." He whimpered. Luffy sighed.

"Really? Dang, I guess we're gonna have to go back then." He said.

"Halt! Release Helmeppo at once!" Luffy turned to see three Marine soldiers aiming their rifles at him. "No way. But, you could shoot me if you want." Said Luffy. He held Helmeppo in front of him like a shield. Helmeppo screamed. Luffy ran forward ramming into the soldiers with Helmeppo.

* * *

Zoro felt the ropes that were binding him being tugged. He looked to see "Luffy." "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to get my katana back," asked Zoro, confused. Then he realized his mistake. It wasn't Luffy, instead, it was a girl. Sea foam green eyes stared back into his. Zoro blushed. He hate to admit it, but he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "Aw, hell! There's two of you?!" shouted Zoro, shocked. Aya giggled as she continued to try to untie the ropes. "That was my brother," said Aya. "I'm here to get you out of here. Coby, get your ass over here, now!" Coby ran over and started to help with the ropes.

"Great, just what I needed," Zoro muttered under his breath. "Another brat."

Aya stopped what she was doing. She narrowed her eyes at Zoro. "Don't ever compare _me _to my brother," said Aya, coldly. "I'm nothing like him." Zoro froze.

"You have to get out of here, Zoro," Said Coby as he got a knot undone.

"Listen, you two. That manic will kill you when he finds you both helping me," said Zoro.

"I don't care. I just can't see the Marine's name being treated like this. The Marines should be honorable." Said Coby.

"I can take care of myself. But, thank you for caring." Said Aya as she smiled. Zoro blushed then he shook his head. "Look, I can't leave! I'll be out in ten days and-"

"Actually, they were planning on killing you tomorrow." Aya interrupted. Zoro paused.

"What?" asked Zoro in disbelief.

"Helmeppo was not planning on holding his promise to you. He planned on killing you from the start. Which made Aya and Luffy really angry. Aya even hit him for it." Coby explained as he got a few of the knots undone.

"Yeah, and now the Marines are dead serious on catching the two. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to be a pirate. I just hope you help them. You three are incredibly strong. And you can save each other from a tragic fate." Said Coby. Zoro was silent.

"End of the line!" Shouted a voice. Coby and Aya froze then turned to see a tall, heavyset man with a huge axe for a hand with ten Marines soldiers. "For the crime of treason against me, I sentence the three of you to execution." Said the large man as his men readied their rifles. Coby, Aya, and Zoro froze.

_"Luffy, where are you?!" thought Aya._

Luffy entered a room and looked around. The room was pink, like a tornado barfed all over the place. "Yep, this looks like yours." He said. His eyes spotted three katanas resting by the . Two of the swords had black sheathes, another sword stood out from the rest. It had a white sheathe instead.

"Wait, there's three of them. Hey, weirdo, which one's Zoro's?" asked Luffy. Helmeppo was out like a light. "Huh, must've fell asleep." said Luffy. He looked out the window and saw Coby, Aya and Zoro being targeted with rifles by the Marines. Luffy gasped and quickly grabbed the three katanas. He ran over towards the window and opened it. Luffy clutched the window sill and walked back, his arms stretching as he did. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" Shouted Luffy as he launched himself out of the window.

_"_FIRE!"

The sound of gunshot echoed as they fired. Luffy landed in front of the three. Everyone watched as the bullets made contact with his body.

"LUFFY, NOOO!" shouted Coby.

"STRAW HAT!" shouted Zoro.

Their eyes widen as they saw the bullets pulling back Luffy's skin as it stretched. Grinning, Luffy stretched his body and the bullets rebounded back. "See ya!" yelled Luffy as a bullet nearly missed the Marine captain's head. Luffy threw his head back and laughed. "That won't work on me! I told you I was strong!" laughed Luffy while everyone, except Aya, stared at him with disbelief.

"Nice of you to show up at the last minute," said Aya as she tried to steady her heart beat. She stood up and walked over to Luffy and hit him on the back of the head. "What the hell were you doing?! What took you so long?!" She shouted.

"Ouch! Why'd you hit me?!" shouted Luffy as he hold his head in pain.

"For being a dumbass!" Aya shouted back.

"Who the-who the hell are you?" asked Zoro. Luffy turned to him and winked.

"My name's Monkey D. Luffy. And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates." He said, confidently. The shock fell from Zoro's face, and he rolled his eyes.

"King of the Pirates? Yeah right. Do you have any idea what that means?" He asked.

"King of the Pirates means it sounds like. How can someone not know what it means? Besides, she has the same dream as mine. Aya's going to become Queen." Luffy asked. Coby nodded his head, grinning.

"Yeah! It sounds really nuts and impossible but it really looks like they're serious. They have every intention on becoming the King and Queen of the Pirates. They have their mind set on obtaining the One Piece." said Coby. Zoro raised his eyebrow.

Luffy held out the three swords to Zoro. "Here you go, just like I promised. I didn't know which one was yours so, I brought all of them." said Luffy.

"They're all mine, kid. I am a user of the three-sword style." said Zoro. Luffy shrugged, still holding out the swords.

"Just take them already. Just know that if you fight with me, you'll become a government defying villian. It's either that or you're left here, killed by the Marines, execution style." He said. Zoro smirked.

"What are you? The son of the devil? It doesn't matter. Because if I don't choose your side, I'll end up dead on the sticks. So let's see what you got." He said. Luffy pumped his fist in the air.

"Alright! You're finally joining my crew! This is the best day ever!" He cheered.

"Would you quit fooling around and get these ropes off me?!" Shouted Zoro, annoyed.

The entire time, the Marines stood in shock at what they had just witnessed. Nobody should have been able to survive that. "Straw hat's different from the rest of us. He must have eaten of the those legendary devil fruit we've heard about." said Captain Morgan. The Marines gasped. "Yes. The very fruit that gives the one who consumes it other-worldly powers. The power to breath fire. The power to cause Tsunamis. Little is known about them. And, it seems that straw hat has just shown the power of his devil fruit. Well," Captain Morgan held his axe into the air. "If we cant' shoot them, charge!" He yelled as he and his men charged at the four. Clang! The sound of swords clashing, were heard.

The Marines stood frozen in fear as they saw that Zoro was released from his binds. He was now standing before them with two swords in his hands and one in his mouth. "Make one move and you die." Said Zoro as he glared at the soldiers. The soldiers froze in terror not moving an inch.

"Today I'll officially become a criminal. Having fought the Marines. I'll become a pirate, that I can promise you. But I tell you this now,...being a pirate won't stop me from fulfilling my ambition." said Zoro.

"What's that?" asked Aya.

"To be nothing less than the world's greatest swordsman. If something along the way stops me, then I'm making the two of you take full responsibility. After which you have to apologize to me," He said. Luffy smiled. "The world's greatest swordsman. Sounds pretty cool. The King and Queen of the Pirates would have nothing less." said Luffy. Zoro nodded.

"Big talk coming from you. From this point on, whether I'm a criminal or not, I will let the name Zoro be known throughout the world." He said.

"Kill them at once!" Yelled Captain Morgan. The soldiers charged again.

"Better duck." said Luffy. Zoro quickly ducks down. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" yelled Luffy. He knocked down the soldiers in one sweep. Zoro gasped. "Just what are you? " He asked. Luffy smiled.

"I'm the guy who ate the Gum-Gum fruit!" He said.

Luffy rushed forward towards Captain Morgan. "Bring those Marines right down to their knees!" Shouted Coby. Luffy threw his arm back punched Captain Morgan but hit his axe instead.

" You brat! You have no right to defy my superiority. I am the Marine Captain, S. M Morgan!" Shouted Morgan.

"I'm Luffy. Nice to meet ya," said Luffy.

Captain Morgan swung at him but Luffy jumped out of the way and into the air. The Captain's axe slammed into the ground. Coby's eyes widen in shock as his mouth dropped. While in the air, Luffy slammed his feet into Morgan's face, knocking the captain down. Luffy landed on his feet as Morgan started to get back up. The Marines watched in shock.

"You brat!" Growled Morgan."DIE!"

Luffy rushed towards him and dodged out off the way as the captain swung at him. He kicked him in the face, knocking Morgan down to the ground. The soldiers froze. Luffy grabbed the captains shirt and threw backs his fist. "You're going to pay for crushing Coby's dream!" Shouted Luffy as he punched Morgan.

"Hey! Stop!" Shouted Helmeppo . Luffy ignored him and continued punching Morgan. "Hey, you idiot! I said stop!" Shouted Morgan.

"Oi, Straw hat." Zoro called out. Luffy stopped and turned. Helmeppo had a gun pointed at Aya's head. Coby didn't move a muscle.

"If you care about her life, don't move! I'll shoot if you do anything else!" Yelled Helmeppo. Aya glared at him. Luffy smiled.

"You really shouldn't have done that." Luffy giggled. "She's not afraid to die."

Helmeppo's eyes widen in shock. Suddenly, a hand gripped his wrist tightly and twisted it painfully. Helmeppo cried out in pain as he dropped the gun and it fell to the ground. Aya kneed the man behind his leg knocking him down.

Coby watched in amazement. Zoro stood impressed. Luffy grinned.

"You witch!" Helmeppo shouted in pain clutching his broken wrist. "I'll see you hanged for this!"

"Shut up." Said Aya. She threw back her fist and punched Helmeppo in the face. He fell to the ground, knocked out.

Suddenly, Captain Morgan appeared behind Luffy, raising his axe.

"Luffy! Behind you!" Warned Coby.

Captain Morgan was about to hit Luffy on the head. But, Zoro rushed forward and sliced his swords straight through the captain. Captain Morgan let out a gasp then he fell on his knees to the ground. Zoro landed behind him on his feet, perfectly. The Captain didn't move at all. He was dead. The Marines cheered.

"That weird. They seem pretty happy that he's dead." said Coby. Luffy shrugged and smiled at Zoro.

"Thanks for the help," He said.

"Yeah, thanks." Aya said.

Zoro smirked and nodded. "Just doing my job, captain," He said. Luffy smiled and laughed. Zoro's smirk turned into a smile. Suddenly, his eyes began to close then he fell backwards collapsing on the ground.

"Zoro! Are you ok?" asked Coby, panicking. Zoro opened his eyes and groaned.

"Yeah. I'm just...hungry." He said. Luffy blinked before throwing his head back, laughing.

* * *

Everyone went back to Rika's family restaurant. Their were people in their who were chattering very loudly and celebrating. "Man! I can't remember I had a last good meal like that. I was ready to eat my own bootstrap if I didn't get anything to eat." said Zoro in a joking tone. His bandanna was now tied around his shoulder, revealing short sea-green hair. Coby, Rika and Rika's mother were laughing while Luffy was wolfing and gobbling down the food.

"You finished already? There's a shock." said Rika's mother.

"How could you have a bigger appetite than a guy who hasn't eaten in three weeks?" asked Zoro. Luffy shrugged.

"My brother's always been like that, it's like his secret power or something." said Aya in a joking tone.

"I'm just enjoying the food. Right, Coby?" Luffy said. Coby laughed.

"Yeah, thanks for fixing this up for us by the way," said Coby. Rika's mother smiled.

"My pleasure. After all you did save the town." She said.

"You two are the coolest people I've ever met." Said Rika to Luffy and Aya. Luffy grinned.

"Heck yeah we are! And we'll be even cooler when we're King and Queen of the Pirates and get the One Piece. Oh yeah, when we get the strongest crew in the seas." He said.

"So, how many other crew members do you have besides me and her?" Zoro asked.

Luffy took a sip from his orange juice. "Just you." He said. Zoro's smile fell. He pointed to himself.

"Me? You know, that doesn't amount to a good enough crew." He said. Luffy shrugged.

"So? We're pretty strong." He said.

"Well, do you at least have a boat?" asked Zoro. Luffy pointed out the window to a small boat that was tied and docked to a post. Zoro fell off of his seat.

"How did I get myself suckered into this?" He asked himself. "You two have got to be the worst pirates ever in history."

"Hey, watch it." growled Aya.

"Come on. It'll be loads of fun." said Luffy smiling. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Say Luffy? Where are you guys planning on going after you leave here?" asked Rika. Luffy grinned.

"The Grand Line, of course." He said. Coby coughed as he nearly choked on his juice.

"No way! That's too dangerous!" He shouted. Luffy tilted his head.

"Why?" He asked.

Coby looked down. "As you probably know, that place is so dangerous, that only one man was able to pass it. And that was the King of the Pirates himself. Gol D. Roger. It is said that the Pirate King had placed his most valuable treasure, the One Piece, at this location. Many countless men had tried to obtain this treasure, but...it lead them all to the same terrible fate. There's a reason why that place is called a Pirate's Graveyard. No one had ever made it out there alive." said Coby as he began to tremble. Luffy leaned back in his chair.

"Eh, I'm not afraid. We're still going there anyway." He said.

"I guess we have to live with it." said Aya. Coby stood up from his chair.

"No! You can't!" He yelled. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you care? You're not planning on coming with us, are you?" He asked.

Coby shook his head. "No. But, I still find Luffy and Aya as great friends. Even though we haven't known each other for long. Right, guys?" asked Coby. Luffy grinned. Aya smiled.

"Of course. Even though we have to part ways, we'll always be friends." He said. Coby smiled sadly.

"When I was just a little kid, I never had any friends. None that would fight on my behalf either. So I always tried my hardest to never fight for anything. But the three of you have taught me a lesson I could never learn on my own. You taught me how to fight for what I believe in. So I decided to make my dream a reality. I'm gonna join the Marines." He said, confidently.

"Good for you," said Aya. "I'm glad your sticking up for yourself. You follow your dream." Coby blushed.

Suddenly, the doors of the restaurant opened and some Marines walked in. Everyone froze in silence.

"Hey, you." said one of the men, walking over. "We heard that you are pirates, correct?" asked the man. Luffy nodded.

"Uh, no." said Aya. "We're not pirates."

"Yep. You heard right." said Luffy.

"Luffy!" Aya gritted her teeth with anger. The soldier fixed his cap.

"As we are grateful that you saved our town from that tyrant, we can not allow to go freely. There for, your crew must leave town, immediately. We will not arrest you." He said. Aya stared at the Marine soldier in shock.

"Come on! They saved our town! You're really going to kick them out!?" The townspeople argued. The Marines were silent as they had their heads down, while the people continued and began to throw insults at them.

Luffy shrugged and got up.

"Guess it's time to go. Thanks for the food." He said, bowing his head to Rika's mother.

"Yeah, thank you." said Aya.

"Hey, wait a second. You're leaving already?" asked Rika. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah." He said, lifting a bag of food the Rika's mother had prepared for the journey. He flinged it over his shoulder and started to walk out of the restaurant, with Aya following. Zoro followed after them with his katanas.

"And what about this guy? He with you too?" asked the Marine, pointing to Coby. Luffy stopped. He smirked.

"What I can tell you is what he's been doing up to this point," He said. Coby's eyes widen.

_"Luffy...you wouldn't!" _He thought.

_"_Yep. He used to be some fat lady's cabin boy for two years. He's such a dork and a complete loser. He's the weakest person I've ever-"

"Damn you!" yelled Coby as he punched Luffy. Everyone gasped while Zoro smirked. Luffy smirked and threw his fist back and began to punch Coby repeatedly. Zoro grabbed Luffy by his vest, stopping him. Coby collapsed on the floor.

"That's enough, Luffy. Just let him fall. Let's go." He said. Luffy smirked again and nodded, following after Zoro and Aya.

_"Luffy...that was on purpose. He did it so it wouldn't look like I was a pirate. It's not fair! Again and again, I have always relied on Luffy for help! Well no more!" _Thought Coby as he stood up._ "_Sir! I'd like to be a Marine! I'll do whatever you want me to do! Just allow me to join!" yelled Coby. The Marine soldier gave him a questionable look.

"You don't know how many of my men have died in the hands of pirates. However,...permission to join, granted." He said.

"Sir!" Coby yelled.

"That was some act you pulled back there. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it, though." said Zoro as he, Luffy and Aya made their way to the docks.

"But, did you have to be so hard on him?" Aya laughed.

"Coby, could handle the rest himself. I have faith in him." Luffy said. Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it's a real fitting way to leave this town with everyone hating us. Very pirate-like." He said. He, Luffy, and Aya climbed into the boat. Luffy giggled.

"Yeah." He said as he began to untie the boat.

"Luffy! Aya!" The two twins turned to see Coby, Rika, and her mother. Coby saluted. "Thank you! You have done more for me than anyone else in this world has." He said. Zoro smirked.

"That's new. I've never heard of a Marine thanking a pirate before. That's one for the history books." He said. Luffy grinned and the three started to sail off. From the boat, Luffy waved.

"Bye! Hope to see you all soon!" He called.

"Bye, Luffy," said Coby. Rika waved back as well.

"Bye, Big bro Luffy! Bye, Big sis Aya! Bye, Big brother, Zoro!" She shouted.

"SAALLLL-LLLUUTEEE!"

Coby turned to see the entire Marines from the base saluting to the pirates. "See ya!" called Luffy. The ship began to sail further and further away.

"You have good friends." said the Marine leader. Coby felt his eyes burn as tears began to appear. But, he wiped them away. No more. He was not going to be a wimp anymore! Coby smiled. _"Yes. They are. And I know that somewhere, someday, somehow, we'll meet each other again. I can feel it."_

Luffy smiled as the sun began to set. "Alright. The adventure's finally coming to a beginning." He said. Zoro nodded.

"Yeah, and we'll probably face more of them pretty soon." He said. Luffy giggled, agreeing.

"Got that right." He said. Then Zoro frowned as a thought came to his mind.

"Say is there any reason why you two want to be King and Queen of the Pirates?" He asked. Luffy turned to him. Zoro saw the seriousness in his eyes.

Luffy and Aya looked at each other then back towards Zoro. "We made a promise to someone a long time ago. That we would gather a crew and become King and Queen of the Pirates. And I, for one, always make sure to keep my promises." said Luffy. Zoro smiled softly. Luffy turned back to the sunset.

"Me too." Added Aya. "I want to leave my mark on the world before I die."

Zoro gave her a confused look. Then he saw Aya softly make a sad smile behind Luffy's back while her brother wasn't looking. He frowned in confusion wondering what she had meant by that.

"Ok. It's time to start the real fun. Let's head our course. To the Grand line!" Shouted Luffy as he stared over the horizon with excitement.


	3. The Passing Of The Hat!

"Soooo...huuungrry." moaned Luffy as he stared into his reflection in the water.

"When are we gonna reach land anyway?" asked Zoro, his arms rested behind his head as he watched the clouds drifted by in the sky.

"Who knows? We've been sailing for awhile by just the wind and the waves. Who knows when we'll reach land." asked Luffy. He splashed the water a bit to cure himself of his boredom. Zoro raised his eyebrow and scowled.

"Isn't the King and Queen of the Pirates supposed to know where were going?" He asked, irritated. Luffy shrugged.

"Not really. We've been sailing here and there." said Luffy. Aya turned to Zoro. "What about you? Aren't you some expert bounty hunter who's been sailing for a long time?" she asked. Zoro blushed seeing that Aya was a leaning in a little too close.

Zoro moved away from her. "I don't have any recollection of calling myself a bounty hunter." He said. He looked back to the sky. "I had to set out to the sea in search of one man. I couldn't return to my village. At that point, I had no choice but to go after pirates to make a living." He said. Aya nodded and looked back at the water. She smirked.

"Yeah, I see. So you're just lost." She said in a teasing voice. A vein popped on Zoro's head. "You don't have to put it like that!" He snapped, slamming his hand to the side of the boat. The boat rocked violently back and forth, knocking Luffy's hat off his head. His eyes widen.

"Oh no! Not my Shanks hat!" yelled Luffy. Zoro and Luffy quickly rushed after it

_"This straw hat means more to me then you'll ever know. It's been with me in many fights. It's something so precious, I couldn't even give it to you, Luffy."_

* * *

_Ten years ago..._

_On a island there was a village called Foosha Village. In a bar there was a pirate crew who were celebrating and partying as they drank and feasted. At the counter of the bar, there were three people sitting on stools. One was a man with crimson red hair and eyes, black as night. On his left eye, he had a scar that had three slashes. Sitting beside him were two kids, a boy and a girl. The boy had short black hair and was wearing a white shirt with an anchor on it and blue shorts, it was Luffy. The girl had short hair as well the same as her brother's while the tips of her hair reached her chin. She was wearing a blue tank top and shorts, silently reading a book about pirates, it was Aya. Aya coughed as she covered her mouth with her hand until she broke into a coughing fit. _

_The red-haired man gave the girl a worried look. "You sure you're feeling well? Maybe you should get some rest?" He suggested. Aya shot the man a glare as she frowned at him. Luffy smiled. _

_"Aya's tough. She's not going to let a cough keep her down." said Luffy._

_"I'm fine. Just leave me alone." said Aya. "It's just allergies, it's just a little settled in my chest that's all."_

_ Aya frowned and continued reading pressing her nose to the book while trying to ignore her brother's loud voice as he was talking with the red-haired man._

_"You gotta take me on your next adventure, Shanks! I wanna be a pirate, just like you!" said Luffy, happily. The man known as Shanks laughed._

_"Right, as if you could ever be a pirate." He chuckled._

_"Why couldn't I?" asked Luffy. A man with wavy blond hair chuckled as well._

_"Look, Luffy. You might be a good swimmer and all, but, you still wouldn't make it as a pirate." He said. Luffy turned to him staring at him with an annoyed look._

_"But I'm an amazing fighter too! My punches are like pistols!" He exclaimed, punching his fist in the air._

_"Are they now?" asked Shanks in a bored tone._

_"What's that suppose to mean?!" yelled Luffy, angrily._

_"Heh! Heh! He means you're too much like a kid, kid." said a heavyset man as he laughed._

_"He's right, you know, I've got boys much older than you." Said Yasopp._

_Yasopp wobbled over to Aya and throw his arm around her shoulders. He was slightly drunk as Aya could smell the alcohol from his breath. "Hey, Aya. I've got a boy who's just around your age." He said. _

_"Again, no thanks." said Aya as she looked away from him._

_Yasopp gave her a disappointed look. "What? Are you saying that you're too good for him?!" He shouted._

__Aya had a disgusted look on her face and she scrunched up her nose in the air sticking out her tongue. "Boys are gross!" She s_aid._

_Shanks laughed. "You say that now, Aya. But, one day that might change." He said._

_Aya turned to him and glared. "Shut up." She growled. _

_Luffy turned to Shanks and his crew angrily. "I'm not a kid! I'm a grownup!" shouted Luffy_

_"Ah, calm down, Luffy. Here have some juice." said Shanks as he passed the boy a glass filled with orange juice. The anger on Luffy's face went away._

_"Wow, thanks, Shanks." He said happily, sipping on the juice._

_"I don't know one pirate who drinks juice!" Shanks laughed as he slapped his hand on the counter. Aya rolled her eyes at her brother's stupidity. She saw it coming a mile away as soon as the pirate captain handed her brother the drink._

_Luffy blushed as his cheeks grew red with embarrassment. "HEY! YOU TRICKED ME!" He yelled. His anger grew as Shanks and his crew laughed at him. "STOP LAUGHING! THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT!"_

_Suddenly, the door to the bar was kicked open and everyone went silent as a group of people walked in. "Excuse us." said a low gruff voice. No one in the room moved a muscle, instead of Shanks, who was eating. _

_"So these are what pass for pirates around these parts? Looks rather sad to me." said a men with long black hair as he walked in. He walked over to the counter, ignoring Shanks, Luffy and Aya. The bar's owner, Makino, walked over to him._

_"Welcome, gentlemen. What can I do for you?" She asked. The man smirked._

_"We're mountain bandits. But, we didn't come here to tear your place apart. All we want is some sake. I'd say, ten barrels shall do." said the leader of the bandits._

_"I'm sorry. But, we're already out of sake." said Makino. The man crossed his arms._

_"Really? That's interesting. Then what are these pirates drinking? It doesn't look like water." He said._

_"No, it just happens to be the last of what I have stocked. I'm sorry." said Makino. Shanks wiped his mouth as he finished his meal._

_"My apologies, gentlemen. Looks like me and my friends drank the place dry. But, you can have this, if you want." He said as he hold up an unopened bottle of sake to the bandit. "You can have this one. It hasn't even been opened and-" The sound of glass shattering echoed in the room as the bandit broke the bottle with his fist over Shank's head._

_Makino and Luffy gasped while Aya watched silently. Shanks was doused from the alcohol as it dripped from his clothes. "I'm a wanted man. There's an eight million bounty on my head. So don't insult me with one lousy bottle of sake." said the bandit._

_Shank's ignored him and bent down to the floor. "Just great...now the floor's all wet. You got a rag I can clean this up with, Makino?" asked Shanks as he got to his knees and started to pick up the glass shards from the floor._

_"Oh no, I'll-"_

_Crash! Everyone gasped as the bandit slammed Shanks into the counter as he punched him. The plate that was sitting on the counter shattered on top of the captain's head. The bandit pulled out his sword and made a huge scratch on the counter. "Since you like cleaning up messes so much, maybe you'll find this more fulfilling." said the bandit as he put his sword away. "A place with no sake is not worth are time. Let's go." He said as he and his crew walked out of the bar._

_"Captain, are you okay? Are you hurt?" asked Makino as she checked Shanks over. The captain waved his hand._

_"I don't have a problem in the world, Makino." He said with a laugh. His crew began to join him as they howled in laughter. Shank's threw his head back laughing as hard along with them._

_"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"_

_Everyone stopped as they stared at Luffy who was standing on the stool, fuming in anger. He was breathing heavily and glaring at them. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?! YOU'VE SHOULD'VE FOUGHT BACK, SHANKS! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW STRONG THEY LOOK OR HOW MANY THEY WERE, YOU CAN'T JUST LAUGH IT OFF! YOU'RE NOT A MAN OR A PIRATE!" roared Luffy. Shanks gave him an reassuring smile._

_"Listen, Luffy. I know how you feel. But the guy just spilled some booze on me, nothing to get upset over." He said. Luffy's shoulders slumped as he pouted. "Whatever." He said. Luffy sat back in his stool and leaned over the counter, sulking. Then he noticed a small chest with a strange looking fruit that was inside it. It was purple and round in shape with swirls on it. Luffy blinked. His mouth began to water practically dripping from it. He leaned over the counter and took the fruit from the chest. Aya coughed. She glanced over at her brother seeing him take the strange fruit from the case. Her eyes gave a questionable look as she stared at the fruit. She had never seen one like it before._

_"You really shouldn't eat that. You don't even know what that is." said Aya. Luffy didn't hear her and opened his mouth. Before she could stop him, Luffy had already chomped down on it and swallowed a bite. Aya slapped her forehead and groaned._

_Shanks fixed his straw hat then turned to Luffy and saw him eating. He chuckled. "You know, Luffy, there are other ways to soothe your anger besides eating." said Shanks._

_"Shut up!" yelled Luffy. Shanks noticed something in the boy's hands. His eyes widen._

_"Wait, what are you eating?!" He asked. Luffy gulped the fruit down._

_"I-uh...well, I-whoa!" yelled Luffy as he was hung upside down in the air by Shanks._

_"You did not just eat the fruit from the box, did you?! Spit it out! NOW!" yelled Shanks as he shook him._

_"Ow! Ow! What are you doing?! Why are you shaking-"_

_Suddenly, Luffy's head stretched and smashed to the floor. Everyone was silent staring in shock. Aya's eyes widen as her mouth dropped a bit. "What...what's going on?" asked Luffy. He had a scared look on his face._

_"Luffy! You just ate the Gum-Gum fruit! It's part of a group called the Devil Fruit! Eating any of them takes your ability to swim for the rest of their lives! That one caused your body to turn to rubber!" yelled Shanks. Luffy's eyes widen._

_"NO WAY!" shouted Luffy. "IT CAN'T!"_

_"YOU DUMBASS!" shouted Shanks."_

* * *

_Luffy gasped as he felt the wind get knocked out of him as he was slammed into the wall. "Heh, this is just sad. We were just enjoying a drink and you two came and disrupted it." said the leader of the bandits as he and his group snickered. Luffy glared dangerously at him. He glanced over to the side and saw Aya lying on the ground unconscious, completely beaten up bloodied and bruised._

_"You better apologize! No one messes with Shank's crew! And you're going to pay for what you did to Aya!" He yelled. The bandit leader placed a foot on Luffy's head. Luffy bared his teeth at him angrily._

_"I don't think I insulted you directly." said the leader of the bandits._

_"You think wrong! You better apologize or else!" shouted Luffy._

_"Big mouth, kid. That's what got you into this shit." said the leader of the bandits._

_Back at the bar, the bandits and the leader returned and were gulping down some sake. They were all joking and bad talking about Shanks and his crew._

_ "What losers! Calling themselves pirates!"_

_" Pirates are just wimps. Nothing more. They're all talk, no action!"_

_"SHUT UP!" a loud voice shouted._

_Then men turned to see Luffy who was glaring at them angrily while Makino and Aya tried to hold him back. "STOP IT! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SHANKS AND HIS CREW! YOU BETTER SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS, BANDITS!" He screamed._

_Luffy yelped as he felt the bandit press down on his head harder. "You should watch your mouth, kid. No one has ever insulted me and lived to tell the tale." said the leader as he pulled out his sword._

_Luffy charged at the bandit, punching him in the legs. The bandit laughed. He kicked Luffy away, slamming him into the wall. The bandit picked Luffy up and threw back his fist. Aya's eyes widen and she ran over to the two. She jumped up and grabbed onto the bandits arm, dangling from it and bit him. The bandit glared at Aya, dropping Luffy to the floor. He grabbed Aya by the throat lifting her._

_"You brat! You bit me!" shouted the bandit. _

_"Leave him alone!" shouted Aya. The bandit stopped as he saw Aya's necklace shining in his face. He smirked. The bandit grabbed the chain and ripped the necklace off from Aya's neck, holding it in his hand. _

_"Give it back!" Aya shouted in anger. She bit the bandits hand. The bandit's eyes widen as he yelped in pain. He growled and in a flash he kneed Aya in her chest. He dropped her and she fell to the floor. Aya gasped as she tried to breathe. Then she began coughing up blood as it splattered to the floor. Luffy, Makino, and some of the customers in the bar stared in horror as they saw Aya coughing violently. Aya's eyes widen in fear as she saw the small droplets of blood fell landing on the wooden floor. Aya grabbed her chest in pain and looked up glaring at the bandit. Her vision began to blur._

_"Damn you." said Aya, weakly._ Luffy gasped as he saw her collapsed.

_"Aya!" Luffy shouted as he ran over to her. "You bastard!" He growled as he glared at the bandit._

_The bandit laughed and started to walk away. "Take these two with us." He ordered his men. "I'm not done with them yet." They grabbed Luffy and Aya, carrying them to the village square._

_The mayor and Makino rushed over to them. "Stop!" yelled the mayor as he and Makino ran in. "Let the children go. I beg you." The leader of the bandits turned to him._

_"Please, I have no idea what they've said and I don't intend to fight you for it. I'll even pay you. Just let them live, please." begged the mayor as he got to his knees. The leader of the bandits smirked and pulled out his sword._

_"As if. These brats have already got me pissed, and now they will pay for it with their deaths." He said._

_"You're the rotten one!" yelled Luffy. The bandit inched the blade towards the boy's neck._

_"And you're a lost cause. Why these two are fighting for a punk ass like you and that runt is beyond me. You're just another piece of crap who's life will not be missed." said the bandit._

_"Please, no!" cried the mayor and Makino._

_"Well, I was wondering why the bar was empty on such a fine day." A voice called out._

Makino and the Mayor gasped as they turned around to see Shanks and his crew behind them. _"Well, what do ya know, it's the mountain bandits again." said Shanks as he tipped his hat. The leader of the bandits glared at him. Luffy eyes widen, surprised to see him._

_"Pirates, where have you've been? Scrubbing the latrines?" asked the leader of the bandits._

_"Luffy." said Shanks, ignoring the bandit. "Didn't you say that your punches were like pistols?" asked the captain in a teasing tone in his voice._

_"Shut your mouth." hissed Luffy._

_"Listen, pirates. I don't give a damn why you're here, so why don't you buzz off? Better yet, let's send you off in a casket." asked the leader of the bandits. One of his men aimed a pistol at Shanks' head. Shanks smirked. _

_"Are you willing to risk your life?" asked Shanks. "Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you going go use it?" _

_Suddenly, a gun shot echoed as it fired._

_The bandit's body fell to the ground with a thud. Everyone gasped as one of Shanks men fired taking the bandit out in one shot, while munching a piece of meat from a turkey leg he was holding. "What'd you fellas expect? We play nice? We're pirates for crying out loud." asked one of Shanks' men. Shanks' hat suddenly fell as he lowered his head, as a shadow covered his face._

_"Listen, fellas. Whether I'm sprayed with alcohol or doused with food. Hell, I can even take being spat in the face and I'll just laugh it off. But,..." Suddenly, Shanks' looked up with a glare in his eyes as his happy mannerism was gone. "If you **ever **hurt a friend of mine, or call them useless, that's were I draw the line, regardless of what they've done." said the captain. Luffy's eyes got teary._

_"Shanks..." He whispered sadly._

_The bandit leader cackled. "So we're going to pay? Fine, let's see if you can survive. Men, kill them all!" He commanded as his men charged at the group of pirates with swords in their hands._

_Just as they got closer, suddenly, all of them fell to the ground, dead. The leader of the bandits eyes widen in shock as he saw his men fall one by one, mysteriously. Then a sniper from Shanks' crew stepped up and smirked. "Really, is that all you got?" asked Yasopp._

_"Wow..." whispered Luffy in awe. He glance over at Aya. He wished that she could see this as well. _

_"H-hold on! These kids attacked us!" yelled the leader of the bandits. Shanks smirked._

_"Didn't you say you had a bounty on your head?" He asked. The bandit's eyes widen in fear as he stared at the red-haired man before him. Then he pulled out a small bomb and threw it to the ground. It exploded and smoke came flying everywhere._

_"Luffy? Aya?" As the smoke cleared. Shanks sighed in relief seeing Aya. But, Luffy was nowhere to be seen. His eyes widen in horror. "Oh no! I let that guy take him! What are we gonna do?!" He asked, panicking. His crew smirked seeing their captain in a panicked state._

"Watch over Aya. I'm going after Luffy!" Shouted Shanks as he chased after the bandit.

* * *

_Luffy struggled as the bandit leader dangled him over the sea by the collar of his shirt. They were now in a boat in the middle of the ocean. The bandit laughed as he looked to the sky. __"Heh, they'll never find me."_

_"Let me go, damn it! I can't wait to see Shanks rip your head off with his bare hands!" shouted Luffy as he squirmed to get out of the bandits hold on him. The bandit smirked._

_"Have fun sleeping with the fishes, kid." said the bandit as he threw Luffy into the water. At the last second, Luffy grabbed the chain from Aya's necklace and ripped it off from the bandit's neck, splashing into the water as he did._

_"Hey! Give me that!" shouted the bandit leader. _

_"No! It's my sister's! You can't have it, you bastard!" Luffy shouted as he flailed and kicked in the water, trying to stay afloat. He felt his body trying to sink. The bandit was about to grab Luffy but something rose from out of the water behind him. A huge shadow casted over him. The bandit froze and turned around to see a giant sea monster with razor sharp teeth. In an instant, the monster ate him in one bite. Luffy gasped and struggled harder as the giant waves knocked him around. His eyes widen as he saw the sea monster swimming closer to him with it's mouth open._

_"SHHHAAAAANNNKSSS!" screamed Luffy._

_A loud snap was heard as the sea monster crashed into the water. Luffy looked up speechless as something wrapped around him, holding him tightly. "Shanks." He whispered in disbelief. The sea monster breached surface again, getting ready to strike again. It's eyes widen in fear and it froze as it saw Shanks glaring at it. "Get lost." Growled Shanks. It immediately swam away leaving the two alone._

Shanks sighed in relief and smiled as he heard the sound of seagulls and waves crashing nearby as the danger was gone. "I'm in your debt, Luffy. Makino told us everything. On how the two of you defended us and and the name of the crew. How you were willing to fight." He said. Luffy was clutching his shirt tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. He hiccuped as more tears flowed and ran down his cheeks.

Shanks smiled playfully. "Hey, come on. You can't cry. You're a grownup now." He said. Luffy hiccuped.

"But...Shanks...your arm."

"YOUR ARM!" He screamed as he sobbed harder. It was a memory that would haunt him forever. Shanks arm was gone. Blood dripped from the missing limb, staining the captain's shirt and into the water. He had saved Luffy but at the cost of his arm. Shanks placed his other hand on top of Luffy's head patting it reassuringly as the boy cried and trembled. He smiled sadly.

"It's okay, Luffy, it's just an arm. I've got another one. The only thing that matters is that the two of you are safe." said the captain. Luffy clutched his shirt tighter and sobbed burying his face in Shanks' chest. He couldn't protect his sister and he couldn't even protect himself. He felt useless. And because of it, the man that he had looked up to, his idol, lost his arm, sacrificing himself for him. Luffy silently promised himself that he would become stronger so nothing like this ever happens again.

* * *

At the docks of the port, Shanks crew hurried to load their ship with cargo of supplies they need. Standing by the ship were three people. "So, you're leaving?" asked Luffy, standing next to Shanks. The red-haired nodded now wearing a black cape over his shoulders covering his missing arm.

"Yeah, it was a nice extended vacation, but, we have to part ways now. I bet you'll miss me, right?" asked the captain. Luffy nodded.

"But, this time will be different. I won't beg you to take me with you. Because I'm gonna become a pirate all on my own." said Luffy.

"Me too." said Aya, now covered in bandages from head to toe. Shanks stuck his tongue at them.

"Bleh. I wouldn't take you with me anyway. You two will never make it as a pirate." He said.

Luffy glared at him. "NO! I WILL MAKE IT AS A PIRATE! SOMEDAY, I'M GONNA GATHER A CREW THAT'S WAY BETTER THAN YOURS AND I'LL FIND THE GREATEST TREASURE OF ALL TIME! THE ONE PIECE! THEN I'LL-I'LL BE KING OF THE PIRATES! I'LL SHOW YOU!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"And I'm gonna queen!" shouted Aya. "I'm not going to let anyone beat me up again!"

"You think you'll surpass us, huh?" Shanks asked. Luffy frowned then looked to the ground glaring. Shanks smiled and took off his straw hat. "In that case, I'll leave this hat to you. It means more to me than everything in the world. So you better take care of it. Got it, Luffy?" asked the captain as he placed it on Luffy's head. The hat was a little too big for him and it fell as it nearly covered his eyes. Tears began to form as Luffy felt them sting in his eyes.

Shanks and his crew board the ship and were now sailing away. The villagers waved as it sailed away.

Luffy held his hand in Aya's as they watched the ship sail away. Aya felt him clenching it tightly and she looked to see that he had a serious look on his face. Aya but her lower lip and looked down to the ground. _"I am not going to be weak anymore!_" Thought Aya as she promised herself, clutching her necklace she was wearing around her neck. Luffy clutched the hat tightly to his chest. Shanks last words echoed their minds.

"I want you to bring this hat back to me one day. In good condition. And only once you've become a great pirates. That's our promise,"

* * *

Luffy stared at the hat he was holding in his hands. Zoro raised an eyebrow. Aya gave him a concerned look. Luffy had been quiet for awhile which was unusual for him. "Hey, Luffy. You're gonna drop that again. I thought that it was important to you." said the swordsman. Luffy smiled and placed the hat on his head.

"Yeah, it is thanks." He said, giving Zoro a grin. Zoro groaned.

"I am so hungry, it's killing me." He said. Aya heard her stomach growl and she groaned as well. Luffy blinked and looked to the sky. He noticed that something was flying overhead. It was a giant bird. Luffy smiled. "Hey, let's eat that bird." Zoro rolled his head.

"How do we catch it?" He asked. His eyes widen as he saw Luffy stretch his arm to the sail of the small ship.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" yelled Luffy.

"Luffy! We're in the middle of the ocean!" shouted Aya as she grabbed onto the straw hat's shirt. "If you miss. I'm gonna have to save your ass!" Just as she finished, in an instant, the two of them were launched into the sky. Zoro tilted his head when he noticed something. He noticed that Aya was screaming wildly. Then he realized what had happened. Luffy's head was stuck in the mouth of the bird's and now the two of them were flying away farther away. Zoro started rowing faster snarling and muttering under his breath, trying to follow after them.

Then he sees a couple of pirates in the water and was heading straight towards them. "I can't stop you're going to have to climb on!" He shouted. The pirates shouted but managed to climb themselves aboard the ship. Zoro look up to the sky but didn't see the bird anymore. He growled as he sat down on the boat. He growled as he thought to himself.

_"Just great. It had not only been a few days and now I have already lost both of them." _Then he looked up and glared at the pirates that were now sitting in the boat. "You guys made me lose sight of them. Row faster or else." He said, menacingly as threatened to pulled out his swords.

The bird carried Aya and Luffy to an island when suddenly a cannon ball was fired. It hit the bird, dropping them. Luffy and Aya screamed. Now, they were falling, descending faster and faster towards the ground below them.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, LUFFY!" shouted Aya.


	4. Captain Buggy the Clown Pirate!

Luffy and Aya screamed as the fell from the sky. The blast from the cannon fire knocked Luffy and Aya away from each other. And now, they were rapidly plummeting to the ground.

"YOU IDIOT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" screamed Aya as she continued to fall. "IF I DIE FROM THIS, I'M GOING TO HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

Luffy screamed in fear as tears ran from his eyes. "Aya! I'm sorry!" cried Luffy. "Don't haunt me!" Tears and snot were now running down his face. The two twins were descending faster down on the opposite sides of the island. Aya was too far away for Luffy to stretch his arm.

"Aya!" shouted Luffy.

"Luffy!" shouted Aya.

Luffy fell hard to the ground, landing on his head. Aya fell into a tree, crashing on every branch on the way down until she hit the ground. Aya closed her eyes as she fell unconscious.

Luffy groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"That was...AWESOME!" He exclaimed, jumping into the air and landed on his feet. But, as soon as he turned around, Luffy noticed that he wasn't alone. A group of pirates and a young girl with orange hair was staring at him. Luffy's eyes widen when he recognized her. It was the same girl he saw back on the boat. He stared back at her. _"She's kind of cute." thought Luffy to himself._

The girl smiled. "Hi, boss! Thanks for coming to save me!" She said in cheery voice. Luffy blinked and tilted his head giving her a confused look.

"Huh?" He asked. The girl giggled. "Who are you?" asked Luffy. Then the girl suddenly turned and started running away.

"They're all your's, boss! Have fun!" she shouted. Luffy scratched his head. _"Girls are weird."_ thought Luffy. He turned to the three men who were glaring at him.

"Say, do you know a good place where a guy like me can get something good to eat?" he asked. The pirates glared at him narrowing their eyes into slits and raised their swords.

"You're dead, kid. You should've let your crony fend for herself." snarled one of the pirates. Luffy placed a hand on his stomach.

"Do you guys know of a good place to eat around here?" He said.

"Food's the least of your problems, kid!" yelled one of the men as he threw a punch at Luffy's head. Luffy gasped as the straw hat fell off his head. He made a fist and his arm stretched as he punched the guy in the face, sending him flying a few feet away. Luffy grabbed his hat and placed it back on his head.

"You better keep your hands off my hat!" He growled.

"You bastard!" yelled the other two pirates. They were in disbelief and shock at how strong the boy was. They charged at Luffy with their swords. Luffy bend back and shot two of his fist at them as he stretched his arms.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" He shouted as he punched the two pirates in the face, knocking them out cold.

The orange-haired girl stared from the top of the roof in awe. "Wow! You sure are strong!" She called out to Luffy. Luffy looked up and blinked. "Even though they had swords, you beat them both bare handed. That's pretty cool." The girl said as she jumped off the roof and landed on her feet.

"Who are you? And why did you set me up?" asked Luffy.

"I'm a talented thief who steal from idiot pirates. The name's Nami. Say, wanna be a team?" asked Nami. Luffy crossed his arms behind his head.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though." He said and started to walk away.

"Hey, come on! At least think about it!" called Nami as she started to follow after the straw hat pirate.

Luffy felt his stomach growl loudly and he fell to his knees and sighed. "I'm still hungry." He mumbled as he rubbed his stomach. Nami held her hand out.

"Well, come with me and I'll get you something to eat." She said. Luffy jumped up on his feet with a wide grin on his face, his eyes sparkling happily.

"Really?!" He cheered. Nami blinked. _"What a weird guy." _thought Nami to herself.

* * *

Nami had lead Luffy to an abandoned house and fixed the pirate up a hamburger and some rolls. She placed them on the table and took a seat across from him. Luffy's eyes sparkled as he saw the hamburger in front of him and picked it up.

"Mmm! This is really good!" said Luffy as he happily ate his burger in one bite. "So...do you live here all by yourself?" asked Luffy as he chewed.

"No, this isn't my home. I'm just staying here for awhile. Everyone left when Captain Buggy and his crew showed up." said Nami. Luffy made a loud burp.

"Oh, I see. You're just a petty thief." He said.

"How rude! I don't steal just from anybody. Just people who deserve it. Like no-good pirates. So don't be comparing me to petty thieves and robbers." said Nami. Luffy took a big bite out of a roll as he munched down on it.

"A thief's a thief's, as far as I"m concerned." He said with a shrug. Nami looked out the window.

"My goal is to get hundred-million berries, and I won't let nothing or no one stop me from reaching my goal." She said. Luffy gulped down the rest of his food.

"Who do you need so much money?" He asked. Nami crossed her arms.

"That's a secret. But with this chart of the Grand Line, my goal will soon come true." She said. Luffy placed his hand on his chin.

"A chart? So you must be a navigator, right?" He asked. Nami smiled and nodded.

"Yep. I bet I'll be the most skilled navigator you'll ever meet." She said. Luffy smiled and stood up.

"That's great. How would you like to join my crew? I've been looking for a navigator." He said. Nami grinned.

"You mean it?" She asked. Luffy grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, you can be our newest crew member!" He said. The grin from Nami's face fell.

"No." She said as her voice went flat. Luffy's grin from his face disappeared. Nami frowned. "Let me guess, you're on a _pirate _crew, right?" asked Nami in a disdained tone. Luffy grinned.

"Yeah." He said as he took off his straw hat holding it in his hand. "I promised a guy who gave me this hat that I'll be a pirate and gather a strong crew!" He said. Suddenly, Nami's hands slammed on the table. She had a hard glare on her face.

"There's nothing more in this world than I despise more than pirates! I only like money and tangerines!" She yelled. Luffy placed his hat back on his head.

"Come on. Join my crew." He said. Nami stared at the boy with a look of disbelief. The more she stared the more Nami felt her heart flutter as unknown feeling overwhelmed her, clouding her mind. There was no possible way that she liked this boy, could she? Nami sighed then she looked away, out the window.

"No." She said as she looked out the window with her arms crossed. Luffy shrugged and began eating again.

"You're loss." He said as he ate his food.

Suddenly, Nami spotted some of Buggy's pirates searching around in the streets. When they walked away, Nami clenched her teeth._ "Damn. I gotta ditch these losers somehow. But how?" _she wondered then she looked back at Luffy. A smirk appeared on her face as she walked over towards the straw hat captain. _"_You know what, maybe I will join your crew. There's just a certain condition I have, though." She said. Luffy looked up.

"Really? Okay, I'll do whatever you want." He said. Nami's eyes danced with delight.

"Ok. I want you to come with me to meet Buggy the Pirate. Let me tie you up, so, um...you can look good in front of Buggy. These are how new pirates meet each other!" She said as she pulled out a rope from her pocket and began to tie Luffy up.

"OK! LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" cheered Luffy as he beamed excitedly. Nami rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Ok. Just hold your horses." She said as she and the captain walked out of the house.

* * *

The men of Buggy's crew silently whispered to each other as Nami and Luffy passed them. They stopped at a giant tent, Nami pushed Luffy to the ground. Luffy landed on his face and Nami stuck her tongue at him. She walked into the tent holding out a map. "I brought the thief, Captain Buggy. Here's your chart back." said Nami as she walked over to a man. The man had light blue hair like the sky, small black eyes. He was wearing an orange coat and hat and clown makeup. And also, what stood out the most was that he had a big round red nose.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but, why the sudden change of heart, little girl?" asked Captain Buggy as Nami handed him the chart.

"I never really liked my boss and I just got sick of it. I want to see if I can join your crew." Nami lied. Captain Buggy's face began to twist as he grew angrier and snarled. His crew began to mumble to themselves, worried.

"Uh-oh! The captain's angry!"

"He's gonna use his devil fruit power!"

"Really?" asked Luffy. He looked at Captain Buggy curiously wondering what his Devil Fruit power was. Then Captain Buggy began snorting and laughing like a maniac.

He calmed down and looked at Nami. "Fed up with, are you? Alright, you seem like a fine young lady. Of course you can join!" said Buggy as he began laughing again. Nami gave a fake smile.

_"What a doofus! Pirates are such idiots!" She thought._

"Hey, guys...why am I in a cage?" asked Luffy, who was still tied up. He was now in a stone, metal cage. The crew snickered at him.

Buggy snorted. "What a fine day to be a pirate. Tell me girl, what's your name?" the captain asked Nami.

"I'm Nami." she said. Buggy threw his hands in the air.

"Then let's celebrate the welcoming of our new member, Nami!" He yelled. He and his crew threw a party and celebrated. The crew members were drinking sake and performing circus tricks. Nami sat across from Buggy from a table that was filled to the top with food. Luffy's mouth watered at the sight of it. He sighed, sadly.

"What's the matter, Nami? The party's in your honor so have some fun." asked Buggy as he took a sip of his drink of sake.

Nami smiled. "Thanks for the party, Captain." She said. _"I'll just wait a little longer to get the that chart back. Maybe I'll steal some of Buggy's loot while I'm at it!" _She thought as she took a bite out of her food. While everyone was partying, Luffy stretched his arm out trying to reach for a piece of meat. But, he couldn't reach it and his hand snapped back to him.

"Damn it!" cursed Luffy.

"Alright, men! It's time to perform the Buggy ball!" cheered Captain Buggy. The crew members cheered and they brought a giant cannon and a large red cannon ball.

"What are you gonna do with that thing?" asked Nami as she raised an eyebrow. The big nosed captain smirked.

"Just observe, my friend." He said. The cannon was lit and was aimed at the town. Both Luffy's and Nami's eyes widen in shock.

BOOOOM!

Zoro's raised his eyebrow as he stared at the burning building. He and the pirates found a port and docked the boat and saw the house suddenly explode from the Buggy ball. "That was a hell of any explosion." said the swordsman.

"That must've been Captain Buggy's most awesome Buggy balls!" said one of the men in awe. Zoro smirked and nearly chuckled.

" Buggy balls?" He asked. Then something caught his eye in the distance. He walked over and his eyes widen in shock as he saw that it was Aya. Zoro rushed over to her checking the girl over. She wasn't moving but he could see her chest rise and fall slowly as she breathed. Zoro twitched his eye. She was sleeping. He bent down to his knees and slapped the girl on the cheeks gently.

"Oi, wake up," said Zoro. Aya groaned as she opened her eyes and she saw Zoro staring at her. Her eyes widen and she quickly sat up. She accidently banged her forehead against his when she did. They both grabbed their forehands in pain.

"What the hell?!" shouted Zoro. Aya hissed through her teeth, holding her head.

She quickly moved away from the swordsman.

"What are _you _doing!?" shouted Aya as she scooted away but her back hit the tree.

"Um, you're the one who was lying on the ground unconscious, remember?" said Zoro. Aya blushed and she crossed her arms over her chest, embarrassed. Then she narrowed her eyes at the swordsman, glaring at him. Zoro shivered from her icy stare.

"Thank you for your concern. But, I'm fine." She said coldly. Aya began to stand up.

But, as soon as she did, Aya suddenly began to feel lightheaded and she began to fall forward. Zoro caught her just before she fell. Aya blushed as she realized her face was pressed close against Zoro's chest. She had never been this close to another man besides her brother.

"Stop moving around so much." said Zoro as he hold Aya's shoulders steadying her. Aya pushed the swordsman away from her. "Don't tell me what to do." said Aya.

"Fine then, the next time you fall, I won't catch you." said Zoro as he muttered under his breath. "Ungrateful brat."

Then suddenly Aya began coughing. Zoro raised an eyebrow. Aya clutched her shirt as she tried to stifle her cough but it kept getting worse.

"Are you alright?" asked Zoro. He reached a hand out to her but Aya slapped it away. Aya reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag. Zoro saw her shaking it and a small pill plopped right into her hand. She took it and little by little her cough started to manage itself and eventually it went away.

"Are you sick or something? asked Zoro.

"Something like that." said Aya in a monotone voice. She put the bag back into her pocket. "As long as I take this, it should lessen some of the coughing."

"Does Luffy know that your sick?" asked the swordsman. Aya looked away from him.

"Yes." said Aya, as she answered simply.

Zoro looked at the girl with a serious look in his eyes. Something by the tone of her voice was off. She wan't telling the truth. There was something more than she was letting on. _"Did Luffy know that there was something wrong with her? Why didn't he say anything? Did he even know how sick she was?"_ thought the Zoro to himself. He sighed. He was going to have to keep a close watch on Aya just in case something did happen. He growled in annoyance. Great, how did he turn from a swordsman into a babysitter? Zoro placed a hand on his face in frustration. Then he heard a snapping sound which made him break out of his thoughts. Zoro blinked. He saw Aya snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Enough questions, we've already wasted a lot of time as it is." said Aya. She looked at the burning house that was hit by the Buggy ball. "And knowing my brother, we probably don't have much." She began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" called out Zoro. Aya smirked. She turned around to him.

Aya hold her hand out. "You can hold my hand if you want. So, you won't get lost." said Aya in a teasing tone in her voice. A vein appeared on Zoro's head.

"Are you asking me to kick your ass?!" growled Zoro. Aya laughed.

"Come on, let's go find my stupid brother." She said.

* * *

Buggy's crew members cheered at the explosion and Captain Buggy smirked. "That was certainly flashy. With the power of my Buggy balls and Devil Fruit powers, nothing will stop me from conquering the Grand Line! Right, Nami?" asked Buggy. Nami made a fake smile.

"Um, yes! Of course!" She said.

"What? But it's my destiny to conquer the Grand Line!" shouted Luffy. Captain Buggy's jaw clenched as he turned to look at the straw hat captain in the cage, glaring at him. "And then I'll be the King of the Pirates!" said Luffy.

"Shut up, idiot!" yelled Nami. Captain Buggy chuckled.

"I see why you despise him as your boss, Nami. He seems quite the nuisance." He said. Nami smiled, nervously.

"Um, yep! He's so naive. He acts like a little kid." She said. Captain Buggy chuckled again.

"Then why don't I give you a Buggy ball to end his life?" He asked. Nami's breath hitched as she stared at the clown captain with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"This is the perfect way to prove your loyalty. Boys." said Buggy. His men brought over the cannon and aimed it at Luffy. Luffy stared at it blankly. Buggy handed Nami a box of matches.

"But I-"

"Come on, take his life. You don't like him anyway, right?" Buggy interrupted her. Nami stared at the matches in his hand as the crew cheered around her. "Fire! Fire!"

_"If I don't light it, then I'll get killed. But, if I do, then I'm no better than them." _thought Nami with a worried look. She looked at Luffy who stared at her, who had an unreadable expression on his face._ "I know you won't do it. You're not that kind of person." _thought Luffy. Nami looked down as she clenched her fist tightly.

"Finish him, Nami!" yelled Buggy.

"What's the matter? You're hands are shaking." called Luffy. He had a light smile on his face. "That's what happens when you take on pirates with half-assed resolve." said Luffy.

"What resolve? To take a life of another? Is that the way of the pirate?" asked Nami. Luffy shook his head.

"No. You gotta be risking your own life." He said, smirking. Nami's hands continued to shake. Suddenly, the matches were taken from her as they were ripped out of Nami's hands by one of the crew members and lit the match. Both Luffy's and Nami's eyes widen and, in a flash, Nami quickly pulled out a long pole and smacked the guy on the head, knocking him out. Everyone went silent and gasped.

"Nami! What is the meaning of this!" yelled Buggy, furiously.

"I'm sorry!" shouted Nami.

"So now you want to save me?" asked Luffy, confused.

"No way, you moron! I will never stoop to these guys levels. Pirates took the life of someone very dear to me and I'll never join them! EVER!" yelled Nami. Luffy nodded, understanding.

"Ah, I see." He said. Suddenly, Luffy saw that the cannon was lit and was aimed at him. "Nami! Help!" He screamed.

"Get her!" yelled Buggy. His crew members ran at the girl with their swords. Nami easily dodged them and without wasting a second, she rushed over to the cannon and grabbed the lit fuse. Nami gritted her teeth tightly as she tried not to scream as the fire singed her skin. She sighed in relief as the flames went out.

"Look out!" yelled Luffy as he saw pirates coming at Nami from behind. They brought their swords down on her. Nami gasped and she closed her eyes.

But, nothing happened. Slowly, Nami opened her eyes and everyone let out a gasp. Zoro had blocked the swords from reaching Nami as he held them back. Aya walked up. "It's wrong to gang up on a lady." said Zoro. Luffy's face broke out into a grin.

"Zoro! Aya! Boy am I glad to see you!" He said, happily. Aya looked over at her brother in the cage. "Can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" asked Aya. "Maybe, I should just leave you in there. It'll save me the trouble." She smirked.

Luffy growled. "You better let me out of here! Aya this isn't funny!" shouted Luffy. Zoro looked at Nami.

"You alright?" He asked. Nami nodded her head slowly.

"Um, yeah, thanks." She said. Nami stared at Aya in shock. _"There's two of them?"_ thought Nami to herself in disbelief. _"And here I thought one was bad enough."_ Zoro nodded and looked at Luffy.

"This is just swell. First you get caught be a bird and now you're in a cage? Sheesh, you're a glutton for punishment, huh?" He asked. Luffy giggled.

"It's actually a funny story, really. I'll to you about it later." He said.

_"The crew he mentioned earlier...are these two? And is that the great pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro?" _Nami wondered as she stared at the swordsman with wide eyes.

_"_Heh, so you're the legendary Roronoa Zoro? If you're here for my head, then that will be quite a problem for you." said Buggy. Zoro closed his eyes.

"No, I'm not interested. I gave up on pirate hunting. I'm here for my friend." He said in a low monotone voice. Buggy smirked.

"But, _I'm _interested, though. Killing you would boost up my reputation." He snickered. Then Buggy's eyes glanced over towards Aya. "Maybe, I'll go for the girl first." Zoro's eyes widen and he gave a cold glare.

"If you try, you die." said the swordsman. Aya tilted her head as she looked at Zoro. Why was he so protective over her all of a sudden? She thought to herself. Buggy crackled and pulled out six daggers, twirling them with his fingers.

"Is that so?" asked the clown pirate captain in a teasing tone in his voice. Zoro sighed in frustration and furrowed his eyebrows.

"I tried to warn you." He muttered. The crew members cheered for their captain as he licked the blade of his dagger. Zoro gripped one of his katanas between his teeth while he held the other two in his hands.

Then Buggy rushed towards the swordsman with his six daggers. He jumped into the air. Zoro leaped as well and his swords cut through the clown captain in one sweep, slicing him into many pieces. Zoro turned to the pirate lying on the ground. "That wan't much of a fight, was it?" He asked.

"Wow, he was weak. Way to go, Zoro!" cheered Luffy. Nami blinked when she noticed that Buggy's crew members were snickering.

"Why are they laughing?" asked Luffy, confused.

"Their captain's is dead and they're laughing?" asked Nami, confused as well. Zoro raised his eyebrow.

"Hey, fellas, why are you-" Aya interrupted the swordsman as she saw something move behind him. "Behind you!" warned Aya. Zoro's eyes suddenly widen as he felt a sharp stab of pain in his abdomen. "Ah!" He looked behind him and what he saw made Luffy, Nami and Aya gasp.

Buggy's severed hand, which was holding a dagger, was the one that stabbed the swordsman. Zoro fell to his knees as blood began to stain through his shirt. "Zoro!" cried Luffy. The straw hat's eyes widen as panic began to rush over him.

"Buggy's hand...it moved on it's own!" exclaimed Nami.

"But, how is that possible? He was dead. We all saw it happen!" shouted Aya.

Zoro shut one eye in pain as he turned his back. The severed hand flew back and reattached itself to the clown pirate, who was now standing completely intact.

"W-what the... hell?!" chocked out Zoro. He stared at the pirate in disbelief as his breathing began to become irregular. Buggy made snickered and made a sickening smirk.

"The Chop-Chop Fruit. That is the name of the Devil Fruit that gave me my powers. I'm a Chop-Chop person and I can never be defeated by a sword! Ever!" laughed Buggy.

"His body reattached himself. And I though the legend of the Devil Fruit was just a myth." said Nami.

"So he's a Chop-Chop man? That's pretty weird." said Luffy.

"You think that's weird? You're made out of rubber!" shouted Aya. Buggy began crackling.

"Wait, he has Devil Fruit powers too?!" exclaimed Nami as she looked at Luffy. "Yep." said the straw hat captain as he pulled back his mouth to show her. "See?" asked Luffy. Nami paled and she looked away from him.

"You're not really helping, right now, Luffy." said Aya. "You're freaking her out even more."

Nami was still trying to wrap her head around what she had saw. Then she looked at Aya "Please don't tell me you Devil Fruit powers as well?" asked Nami. Aya shook her head. Nami sighed in relief.

"I didn't hit any vital organs, but, it looks like my dagger stabbed you good. So that makes my the victor!" laughed the clown captian as his crew snickered along with him. Zoro gritted his teeth and shut his eyes.

"No, that makes you a cheater!" shouted Aya.

Buggy glared at the sea-foam eyed girl. "Do you want to die, girl?" Growled Buggy.

"Come and fight me then!" shouted Aya.

"Shut up!" shouted Nami as she struggled to hold Aya back.

"I...I let my guard down. That...that was a w-weak move." Zoro muttered as he gripped his wound trying to stop the bleeding as more blood began to pool out falling to the ground. Luffy clenched his teeth tightly as he glared angrily at the laughing clown pirate.

"STABBING HIM IN THE BACK WAS A COWARDLY MOVE, YOU BIG NOSE!" screamed Luffy at the top of his lungs.

Everyone went silent and stared at the straw hat captain, eyes wide and their mouths dropped.

"What's that? Did you... say...BIG NOSE?!" yelled Buggy as he threw his weapon at Luffy.

"Luffy!" yelled Zoro. Luffy smirked at looked up showing the dagger that was now clenched in between his teeth.

"Hey, Buggy. I'm gonna kick your ass as soon as I get out of this cage." He laughed. Luffy bit down on the dagger breaking it in half. Buggy began howling in laughter.

"You? Kick my ass? That's big talk, boy! If you want to do some ass kicking, you better do it quick. All four of you will die here by my hands!" said the clown pirate as he continued to laugh, his crew joining him as well. Zoro glared at him.

Luffy threw his head back and began to laugh. Buggy and the others stopped laughing. "I refuse to die! Zoro, get up!" yelled Luffy.

"What?" asked Zoro in disbelief.

"You better have a good reason or else we're dead!" yelled Nami. Luffy smiled at her then looked back at Zoro. The swordsman blinked then he smirked.

"I got'cha." He said. Nami nearly fell over. _"This is why I hate pirates." _she thought, worriedly. Buggy suddenly charged at Zoro and the two began to fight. Blades clash against each other. Then unexpectedly, Zoro jumps over him and made a dash towards the Buggy cannon. He lifted the cannon and aimed it at the clown pirates. Zoro fell back on his knees, placing hands on his wound, sweating dripping down his face. Aya walked over to the cannon and Nami tossed her the matches. She lit the match holding it in front of her.

Captain Buggy and the rest of his crew members gaped in horror. "NO DON'T AIM IT AT US! IT STILL HAS A BUGGY BALL!" yelled Buggy.

"Bye-Bye!" said Aya as she smirked and waved.

The fuse was lit and the cannon fired. The Buggy ball shot out of the cannon and fired straight towards the clown pirates, wiping them out and scattering them.

Zoro lifted the cage with Luffy inside of it.

"Zoro, are you ok?" asked Luffy in concern. He saw the blood dripping from his wound falling to the ground.

"Sh-shut up and don't worry about me. I'll...I'll get us out of this one way or another." muttered the injured swordsman as he struggled to walk, dragging the cage along with him. Then he notices Nami.

"By...by the way, Luffy, who's the girl?" muttered Zoro.

"Yeah, who is she? asked Aya. "You're new girlfriend?" Luffy blushed and he glared at her. Nami frowned.

"He/she is not my girlfriend/boyfriend!" They both shouted together. Aya rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"She's our new navigator." said Luffy.

"Seriously, who are you guys? You shouldn't be moving on that kind of injury." said Nami. A vein appeared on Zoro's head as he lifted the cage above his head with all his might.

"Get...out of the way!" He snapped. Nami blinked. _"Even with a serious injury, he still doesn't want to leave his friends."_ she thought as she turned away and started walking away. Zoro carried the cage, with Aya following until they made it to the village square. He fell flat on his back on the ground, exhausted. He panted and breathed heavily trying to catch his breath.

"You okay?" asked Aya.

"Just need to rest." panted Zoro. For some reason, Zoro felt like he was being watched. He opened his eyes and saw a little white dog, sitting in front of the three. "What's with his dog?" asked Zoro with his eyebrows raised. Luffy's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the dog.

"Doggy!" squealed Luffy as he teetered his cage closer towards the canine. He pulled his eyelid and the corner of his lip, making faces at the dog. "Bleh!" The dog didn't move a muscle. "Zoro, this dog looks frozen." said Luffy. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"I don't give a damn. He can sit there forever for all I care." He muttered. Aya walked over to the dog and bent down, petting it. It still didn't move, not reacting, as she continued to pet it. Aya frowned. "What a weird dog?" she said to herself. Luffy giggled as he gently tapped the dog on the head with his finger. The dog immediately opened his mouth and sank his teeth on Luffy's head.

"AAHHHH! YOU DAMN MUTT! WHAT THE HELL?!" yelled Luffy. Aya laughed as Luffy tried to shake the dog off from his hand.

"STOP LAUGHING!" yelled Luffy. "WHY DIDN'T IT NOT BITE YOU, BUT ME?!"

Aya giggled. "Maybe, he just doesn't like you." she said. Luffy growled.

"Luffy! Get serious...or-" Zoro tried to get up but fell back to the ground. The white dog jumped back into it's guarding position.

"Damn mutt." Muttered Luffy, holding his hand in pain.

"I don't... feel so good..." groaned Zoro. Nami walked over and Luffy grinned as he saw her.

"Oh, hey, navigator." He said, cheerily. Nami smiled.

"I guess I should give you this. After all, you got me out of a sticky situation. Just make sure that this makes us even." she said. Nami tossed the key to Luffy's cage to the straw hat pirate.

"Awesome! You stole this for me? Thanks, Nami." said Luffy as he reached for the key. But, a pink tongue lapped it up as the white dog swallowed it whole. Zoro, Nami, and Luffy stared at the dog in shock. Aya snickered. Luffy grabbed the dog and started strangling it as he shook it wildly.

"You damn mutt! Give me back my key! Give it! Give it! Give it!" yelled Luffy.

"Hey, stop that! Stop picking on poor Chou Chou and leave him alone!" yelled a voice. The four turned and saw a man with white curly hair and glasses.

"And just who are you, old man?" asked Zoro. The man glared at the four.

"Old man? I happen to be the mayor of this town." He said. Then he noticed Zoro's wound and gave a concerned look. "My, that's some injury. You need to see a doctor." said the old man.

* * *

The mayor came out of his house that he led Zoro into and walked over to Luffy, Nami, Aya, and Chou Chou.

"Will Zoro be Ok?" asked Luffy, worried. The mayor sighed.

"I insisted he see a doctor, but, he said he just wanted to sleep it off." he said.

"So this dog's name is Chou Chou?" asked Nami as she petted the dog's head.

"Why is he acting so frozen? He sure is one lazy dog." joked Luffy.

"He's protecting the store." said the mayor. The three tilted their heads. "Chou Chou used to belong to owner of the pet shop. But, he passed away and he's been guarding it ever since thinking that he will come back. I've tried to get him to live with me but that dog's very adamant about protecting that store, like it's his most precious treasure. " explained the mayor. Aya looked at the dog sadly.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake unexpectedly. A loud roaring sound was heard. The mayor ran away and Nami and Aya chased after him. It eventually stopped. Luffy sighed.

"Come on, doggy. Something's here." He said. The dog just stared at him not moving an inch. Then, suddenly, a shadow towered over Luffy and he looked up. Blood-red eyes stared back into his as a giant lion stood over him. It had white fur and a purplish mane and there was also a man, with white hair, sitting on top of the lion's head in a furry suit.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Luffy, calmly, not even fazed by the gigantic beast.

"I am known as the Beast Tamer Mohji, a member of the Buggy pirates. Now, prepare to face your death!" yelled the white haired man. Luffy blinked and the lion slammed it's paw down, busting the cage, sending Luffy flying threw the air.

* * *

"Gum-Gum...!" yelled Luffy as he tied his hands around the lion's mane and threw him over his shoulder. "HAMMER!" yelled Luffy as he slammed the lion into the ground. Luffy's hat got knocked off in the process. He bent down and picked it up.

"What are you?!" yelled Mohji, completely terrified at what he had just witnessed. Luffy had his head lowered as his hat casted a shadow over his face. He looked up with a frown.

"Well, I ate the Gum-Gum fruit." He said in a low tone. Mohji flinched.

"So, you ate a Devil Fruit like Captain Buggy? Only your's make you stretch like rubber? I'm sorry! I don't want any trouble!" yelled Mohji. Luffy had his back to the lion tamer.

"There's no need to apologize to me. Because of you, that little dog will never get back his most precious treasure. And because of that," Luffy turned to him with a serious look in his eyes. "I'm gonna kick your ass." He snarled. Luffy grabbed the man by the chest and slammed him to the ground.

Luffy walked back to the pet shop that was completely demolished. Chou Chou was staring at it. "Oh, so you are alive, pirate. I thought that lion would rip your head off. But, since it didn't, maybe I should! Then there be one less of you monsters to exist!" yelled Nami as she ran with hatred in her eyes. The mayor and Aya rushed after her.

"Stop! There's no need for violence." said the mayor as he grabbed Nami's arm.

"As if you could kill me." said Luffy as he walked passed them.

"I could if I wanted to!" yelled Nami.

"Try it and you die." said Aya. Nami glared at her. "What did you say to me?!" she yelled. "That I can kick your ass and will if you try anything to my brother." said Aya, coldly. Nami stared at her with wide eyes. Luffy ignored them as he walked over to the dog. He lifted his hat and under was a bag of dog food. He placed in front of the dog and sat down next to him.

"Sorry, but that was all I could save. That bastard lion ate up all the rest." said Luffy, grinning at the white dog. _"He...he fought the lion to save Chou Chou's food?" _thought Nami as she stared in wide eyes in surprise.

"You fought well. Though I didn't see it. You're a really brave doggy." said Luffy as he petted Chou Chou's head. The dog grabbed the box of dog food and carried it off. It let out a happy bark. Luffy grinned. "Yeah, good luck to you, doggy." He said.

"Hey, sorry for snapping at you like that, Luffy." apologized Nami as she walked over. Luffy grinned and he stood up.

"It's ok. You've just been under a lot of stress. So there's no need to apologize." He said.

"It's all my fault! I'm the one who runs this town and I failed to protect it! I failed!" yelled the mayor. Suddenly, there was an explosion as the mayor's house was destroyed. Luffy's and Aya's eyes widen in shock.

"Zoro was in that building!" cried Luffy. He rushed over the demolished building and began pulling and digging through the rubble. "Zoro! Zoro! Are you ok? Please be alright! Please be alright!" yelled Luffy.

"He's probably dead by now." said the mayor.

"Don't say that." said Aya.

"No! No! Zoro is Ok! He's stronger than he looks! He's not dead! No way!" yelled Luffy.

"Ow...that's one good way to wake up." muttered a low gruff voice. Zoro groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. Luffy quickly ran over to him, hugging him.

"You're alive!" He cheered. Zoro cringed as he felt some of Luffy's snot fall on him.

"G-get off of me, idiot!" shouted the swordsman as he tried to pry the rubber boy off of him. Aya laughed.

"That's it! I'll defeat Buggy and his crew once and for all!" yelled the mayor as he sprinted away.

"Dear god, what is this world coming to? That guy's going to get himself killed!" muttered Nami. Zoro stood up with Luffy, who still had his arms wrapped around him, clinging on to him tightly.

"Then I guess we're gonna go help him out. Right, Luffy?" asked Zoro. Luffy grinned.

"You bet! Are you coming, Nami?" asked Luffy as he held his hand out to her. Nami slapped it away.

"I would never stoop so low to join a pirate crew. However," The orange-haired girl smirked. "I guess we could team up in order to reach our goals." she said. Luffy smiled and nodded in agreement.

* * *

The four ran through the town until they saw Buggy along with the mayor. Buggy had his hands around the old man's throat his he choked him. Luffy shot out his fist stretching his arm and slammed it into Buggy's face, making the clown pirate let go of the mayor, knocking him back. Zoro stood next to him with his black bandanna tied on his head. Nami stood beside Luffy with a smile on her face. Aya stood in between Zoro and Luffy, holding up her fist, wearing her necklace around her neck.

Luffy looked up at Buggy with a smirk, tilting his hat.

"Good to see ya again, Buggy. Now, what was that promise I made to you? Oh yeah, I'm gonna kick your ass!" He yelled with a determined look on his face.


	5. Roronoa Zoro vs Acrobat Kabaji!

Captain Buggy glared at Luffy as he hold his cheek in pain. He gritted his teeth as he seethed in rage. "Damn you, straw hat!" yelled Buggy. "How dare you! You can't just walk up and treat me like that! I'm Captain Buggy and I won't stand for it!" He shouted. The mayor coughed as he grabbed his throat, trying to catch his breath.

Nami turned to the swordsman. "Remember, all I want is the chart and the treasure, you got it?" said Nami.

"Yeah, I know." said Zoro.

The mayor looked at Zoro, Luffy, Nami, and Aya. He frowned. "You brats! Why'd you follow me ? You outsiders should mind your own business. This is my fight. I'm gonna be the one to protect my people and town. Buggy is my fight!" He shouted angrily. Luffy walked up to him and kicked the mayor on the side of his head, sending him flying into a brick wall. He slumped to the ground as he fell unconscious.

Nami gasped in shock. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO THE MAYOR?!" She yelled.

"Because he was in the way." said Luffy as he looked at her.

Aya nodded her head in agreement. "It's best this way. If he'd fought, he would've been killed or caught in the crossfire." She said. Zoro nodded his head.

Nami frowned in disapproval and sighed. "Still, you didn't need to be so rough with him." said Nami. "There are other ways of handling the situation."

Luffy ignored her and walked over to the building where Captain Buggy and the clown pirates, who were standing on top of the roof. Luffy smirked mischievously as he looked directly at the clown captain. "Here goes." said Luffy as he took in a deep breath. He

"BIG NOSE!" He screamed.

All of Buggy's pirate crew, including himself, gaped shock as their jaws dropped. Nami cringed. Zoro smirked. Aya snickered as she saw the look on their faces.

"That's the worst thing you could have said to him!" shouted Nami. Veins began to appear on Buggy's face as he glared at Luffy furiously.

"The audacity, I won't stand for it. You're really pissing me off. Fire that Buggy ball! Kill him! Kill them all! NOW!" Captain Buggy shouted. The crew aimed a cannon at the four.

"Why did you say that, you idiot!" said Nami as she took off to get away from the cannon's line of fire.

"Come on Luffy, we gotta go!" said Zoro, worried. Luffy didn't move from his spot. He smirked.

"You two go. I'll be fine, just watch." said Luffy. Aya shook her head, not moving as well.

"I want to stay and watch too." said Aya.

Zoro clenched his teeth in frustration. "You're both crazy! We need to move now!" He shouted.

"Fire now!" shouted the clown captain. The cannon went off and headed straight towards Luffy. "That won't work on me." said Luffy as he smirked. "Gum-Gum Balloon!" He shouted. Then Luffy began to blow up as he began to inflate himself. The cannon collided into him as he caught the Buggy ball, completely unharmed from the blast. Zoro and Nami stared completely dumbfounded as well as the rest of the clown pirates.

"W-What is he?!" shouted Buggy's crew members, shocked.

"He caught the Buggy ball?!" shouted Captain Buggy.

Luffy smirked. Then he launched the Buggy ball back towards the pirates as it rebounded back towards them. Their eyes widen in horror as the ball came closer towards them. "He's throwing it back!" shouted the crew members as they tried to scramble away, trying to get out of the line of fire. "Run! Hide! Do something!"

Aya felt someone grab her wrist and she looked to see that it was Zoro. He dragged her away from Luffy as the cannon ball sailed closer towards the building. "Damn it! We need to move, now!" He shouted as he and Aya ran, taking cover. The Buggy ball hit the building, destroying it, scattering the clown pirates. Zoro, Aya, and Nami managed to shield themselves from the blast as they took cover. They saw that the building was destroyed and Buggy's pirates were unconscious.

"Alright! It hit them!" said the straw hat captain.

"What the hell are you?!" shouted Nami.

"A little warning would've been nice." growled Zoro. Luffy giggled. Nami scratched her head in frustration. Suddenly, the rubble began to move and the four looked to see Buggy coming out of the pile, holding two of his men as shields.

"How dare you do that to us!" He growled as he tossed the crew members away. Nami frowned in disgust.

"Unreal, he used his underlings as a shield." She said. Zoro, Aya and Luffy frowned as well.

Lying on the ground, of the destroyed building, Mohji began to wake up. He quickly stood up and wildly looked around, confused. "What's going on here?" He asked. Then his eyes landed on Luffy. Mohji's eyes widen in fear. "I-It's YOU!" He stammered in fear.

Luffy smiled. "HI!" He said as he waved at him.

"Captain, you have to be careful he's got Devil Fruit powers! I saw it myself!" said Mohji in a panicked voice to his captain.

Buggy frowned. "That explains how he survived that Buggy ball." He said as he looked at Luffy. Then he began to smile sadistically, delighted with the thought of fighting with another Devil Fruit user.

"This should be interesting." He said to himself. Mohji tried to protest, but, he heard something from behind him.

"Captain, what's with all the ruckus?" A voice called out. The four saw a man holding Mohji's lion, with his hair tied back partly while one side was shaved. He was wearing a blue and white checkered scarf, a sleeveless purple coat that reached down to his knees, white pants being held up by a light blue sash and white shoes.

" Kabaji, how nice of you to join us. " said Buggy as he smirked sickeningly.

"Kabaji! You put him down, right now!" shouted Mohji, angrily as he saw the man holding his lion. He tossed the giant lion aside and it cowered behind the remains of the brick walls from the building, in fear. Mohji charged at Kabaji getting ready to throw a punch. But, he kicked the tamer away, sending him flying towards Luffy.

"Out of my way!" screamed Mohji.

Luffy smirked. "How about you-" Then he kicked Mohji. "Get out of my way!" shouted Luffy as Mohji's face crashed into a wall. He slid to the ground with a thud.

Kabaji smirked as he and Buggy watched. "Captain Buggy, allow me to pay their disrespect." asked Kabaji.

"Fine, but make it a good show for everyone." said Buggy. Kabaji smirked as he looked at the four.

"Get them!" shouted Buggy. Kabaji brought out a unicycle from out of his coat and charged at Luffy with his sword in hand.

" You may call me Acrobat Kabaji, Captain Buggy's chief of staff! You will pay for your insolence!" He shouted. Just a he brought his sword down on Luffy, it was blocked by another, by Zoro's.

"Since your using a sword, I'll be your opponent." said the swordsman.

"It's an honor, Roronoa Zoro...I'll fight you as a swordsman. I'll relish the chance to slay you." said Kabaji. Then he looked down at Zoro's wound as blood began to stain through the swordsman's clothes as the wound reopened.

"Hey, Zoro. You really should get some rest. Let me handle it!" Luffy protested but Zoro interrupted.

"Just stay back. I need to do this." He said as he looked at Luffy. The straw hat captain stared at him for a moment before nodding his head. Zoro nodded back in appreciation then turned his attention towards Kabaji. The acrobat had a sickening smirk on his face. Aya frowned, concerned. Something wasn't right. What was he up to?

Kabaji smirked. Before Zoro could counter, he blew fire into Zoro's face. Then swordsman managed to deflect some of it away with his swords. But, Kabaji came at him quickly and swinged his leg, hitting Zoro's wound. Luffy, Nami, and Aya gasped as Zoro screamed in pain and fell to the ground. He hissed as he held his side, glaring at the acrobat. Kabaji chuckled darkly.

"I'm guessing you didn't have time to heal." said the acrobat.

"He fights dirty! Going after his injury like that!" said Nami, disgusted.

"What a cheater! I'm going to kick his ass!" shouted Aya. She gritted her teeth in anger. Aya was about to rush in but Luffy held her back as he placed his arm out in front of her. Aya looked and saw that he had a calm look on his face. Then she looked back towards Zoro lying on the ground. As much as she wanted to help her friend, Aya couldn't. Zoro had placed his trust in Luffy that they wouldn't interfere with the fight. The swordsman had to prove that he had to do this on his own.

Then Kabaji stabbed the ground with the tip of his sword. He began to spin around, faster, faster, and faster until a cloud of dust began to form, hiding himself.

"Acrobat, my ass, that's just an ordinary dust cloud." said Zoro. Then in flash, Zoro narrowly deflected Kabaji's sword as it almost stabbed him. Then Kabaji swings his leg and hits Zoro's wound, again. Zoro howled in agony as he felt the burning pain on his left side.

"He did it again!" shouted Nami.

"You were foolish to fight me." Kabaji laughed as he watched Zoro lying at his feet as he howled and rolled around in pain. Luffy clenched his fists tightly while Aya glared at the acrobat.

"He keeps fighting with such a bad injury. He's hurt so bad. I don't understand how he can stand to fight." Said Nami to herself. Then she turned her head sharply looking at Luffy.

"Why are you just standing there watching?! He's going to get himself killed, you know!" She shouted while Luffy gazed at Zoro firmly, ignoring her. Kabaji smirked as he raised his sword.

"He's finished." He said as he charged towards Zoro.

"Come, you bastard." Said Zoro as he got up from the ground. "Having fun picking at my wound, then go ahead!" He glared darkly at Kabaji as the acrobat continued to charge towards the swordsman. Everyone gasped as Kabaji sliced right through Zoro's wound as the swordsman didn't move, not even flinching.

"Why didn't he dodge his attack?" asked Nami.

"Is that enough of a handicap for you?" Zoro lifted his head as he smirked, threateningly. "Then me show you, just how superior my skills are to yours!" Kabaji reeled back as Zoro's cold glare send shivers down his spine.

"Yeah, Zoro! Get him!" cheered Luffy.

"You've made a vast error of judgement. I won't be mocked." growled Kabaji.

"I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman. I refuse to lose to someone like you, who calls himself a swordsman." said Zoro as he pulled out his katana that had a white sheath.

"Brave words for someone who's about to die." said Kabaji as he pointed his sword at Zoro.

"If I lose to you, then I don't have very bright future ahead of me, do I? " said Zoro as he placed the white sword, clenching it between his teeth.

"Why you little... " Kabaji growled grinding his teeth angrily.

"All right! Yeah!" cheered Luffy.

"Yeah, kick his ass!" cheered Aya. Nami stared at the two twins in disbelief.

"I won't stay and watch this." said Nami as she began to walk away. "You pirates can just kill each other for all I care. And it doesn't even matter to me whether you guys win or lose. I'm going to take this opportunity to swipe their treasure and get out of here. Maybe, we can team up if we see each other, again. Bye!" Luffy watched her as she left.

"Yeah, thanks. See ya!" Shouted Luffy as he turned back towards Zoro's fight.

Kabaji held his hand out and spinning tops shot out towards Zoro. Zoro dodged out of the way while deflecting some with his katanas.

* * *

Nami was walking down an alleyway looking for Buggy's treasure hideout. Then she stopped and looked back thinking about Luffy, Zoro, and Aya.

"Those guys are not normal. They're completely crazy. Nothing good will come from it. " She said to herself. Then she ran off. Nami stopped as saw a door that was hidden behind a pile of wood.

She opened it and walked down the stairs until she stopped when the thief saw a guard sleeping in a chair, passed out drunk. Nami sneaked past him until she stopped at a door that was locked. She took out her staff.

"Here we are. Now to steal their treasure and chart and get out of here." Said Nami as she broke the lock off the door.

* * *

Zoro sliced the tops that came out at him with ease until he stopped when he saw Kabaji smirked. The acrobat rode straight up the walls. Zoro watched wondering what he was up to. He sees Kabaji leap off the wall high into the air.

"Wow, that's high!" said Luffy as he watched Kabaji flying from above, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. He and Aya sees Kabaji coming down with his sword at Zoro. Buggy smirks and holds his right arm out.

"Chop-Chop Cannon!" He yells . His hand detached itself and launched towards the swordsman.

"Kabaji! I'll hold him! Finish him off!" Buggy shouted.

"Aye aye, Captain!" Kabaji shouted as he came down on Zoro. Zoro eyes widened as he saw the hand coming at him. He had no time to dodge both.

However, a foot slammed down hard on Buggy's hand as Aya stepped down on it. Buggy screeched in pain. "You stay out of this, coward!" shouted Aya.

"Aya?!" Shouted Zoro, shocked.

"You bitch!" shouted Buggy as he glared at her angrily. Luffy giggled gleefully. He walked up next to Aya, cracking his knuckles.

"You want to fight someone?" asked Luffy, with a wide grin on his face. "How about us?"

Buggy backed up looking at the two twins nervously. Aya smirked.

"I am so going to enjoy this." She said with a wicked grin on her face.

* * *

Nami lit a lamp that she found. She squealed with glee as soon as she saw the gleaming treasure before her. "Look at all of this stuff! And every last bit of it is mine!" She scooped up some of the coins and jewels and they ran down her in between fingers as they fell back into the pile. She smiled as she picked up a crown and placed it on her head. Suddenly, she saw a sword appeared next to her face.

"What do you think you're doing with our treasure?" A slurred voice called out from behind her. Nami turned around dropping the crown. The drunken pirate had woken up.

"_Oh crap! He woke up!" _Thought Nami to herself, nervously.

_"_By order of Captain Buggy, anyone who gets near the treasure will-" The drunk pirate paused and looked down at his drink but whined seeing that it was empty.

"Ugh, it's all gone." He grumbled to himself. Nami smirked as he was distracted. She kneeled down holding her chest, groaning in pain.

"Oh, it hurts!" She moaned.

"Hey, you alright?" Asked the pirate, confused.

"My chest starting hurting really bad."

"What your chest?" The pirate down and saw the swell of Nami's breasts as she pulled down her shirt revealing her cleavage. The pirate blushed and began to drool, perversely. Nami smirked as she took out her staff and hit the pirate right in between his legs.

He fell like a sack of potatoes to the floor, knocked out. Nami giggled until she saw a chain of keys around the pirate's neck. She took them and walked over to a chest and opened it, inside was a rolled up piece of paper. She smiled as she took it out.

"Yes! The chart of the Grand Line!" Shouted Nami, happily.

* * *

Aya pressed down harder on Buggys' hand, the clown captain gritted his teeth in pain. He glared at her and Luffy as the two stood in front of him. Zoro watched as he kneeled on the ground, panting, and a little faint from the blood loss.

"I assure you I don't need my captain to finish you off." said Kabaji.

"Enough, I'm tired of this." said Zoro as he panted with each breath. Kabaji laughed.

"So you finally given up, have you?" the acrobat stated.

"I think you've misunderstood. I'm tired of watching your boring little sideshow." said Zoro. Kabaji grinded his teeth as he glared at Zoro, angrily.

"So sorry to disappoint you. How about a real sword fight? DIE!" exclaimed Kabaji. He made a mad dash towards the swordsman. Zoro crossed his two swords across his chest while the white one was in his mouth. He slashed horizontally as Kabaji charged straight through him. The two stood back to back from each other until Zoro dropped to his knees, falling to the ground. Suddenly, blood spurted out from Kabaji's chest.

"KABAJI!" shouted Buggy in disbelief.

"I can't believe that I was defeated by petty thieves." said the acrobat as he fell from his unicycle and collapsed onto the ground as he went unconscious.

"We aren't petty thieves. We're pirates." grunted Zoro then he collapsed on the ground as well, completely exhausted. "Luffy, Aya, I'm going to sleep." He said then he closed his eyes and began snoring loudly.

"Ok, I'm looking forward to this!" said Luffy as he turned to Buggy, grinning wildly.

"Oh, so am I!" said Aya as she smirked. Buggy growls as he looks at the two twins.

* * *

Nami dragged a large sack of treasure, lugging it behind her as she struggled to pull it. It was incredibly heavy. She stopped and panted, taking a rest. Nami wiped the sweat off from her forehead.

"I scored an impressive treasure from the Buggy pirates, but hauling treasure is tiring. But, I guess it's worth the effort, though." Suddenly, Luffy, Zoro, and Aya appeared in her mind. She was confused. Pirates fighting for other people, risking their lives, instead of for themselves. No ordinary pirates would do that. She brush her thoughts away and stood up.

"Anyway, I need to find a boat so I can high tail it out of here." said Nami. Just as she was about to grab the sack, Luffy appeared in her mind again. Nami shook her head in frustration. _"Nothing good will come out of it. He's a dirty no-good pirate. Just like all the rest."_ thought Nami to herself. Then she looked back to where the fight was with a distant look on her face.

* * *

Buggy looked at Luffy then at Aya eyeing them cautiously to see who would make a move first. He felt like a corned animal as he backed up away from them. Then two twins smirked and cracked their knuckles.

"You guys are pirates?" asked Buggy.

"Yeah, we're heading to the Grand Line!" replied Luffy.

"Ha! That's not an easy voyage , you know. I don't think you have what it takes. And what will you do, if you , by some miracle, make it there? Go on a sight-seeing tour or something?" Buggy laughed.

"Be King/Queen of the Pirates!" said the two twins, unfazed. Buggy stopped laughing as he stared at them in shock.

"You can't be serious, you idiots! I'm going to be king of the pirates!" He said, baring his teeth angrily.

"Your annoying. Let's go ahead and settle this." said Luffy, getting into a fighting stance. Aya got into a fighting stance as well.

"Yeah, stop yapping and lets get to fighting." She said. Buggy pulled out eight knives.

"Seeing that straw hat really makes my blood boil. So bring it on you wannabe pirates!" said Buggy, getting redder and redder by the minute. "You remind me of him. That damn sneaky Red-hair pirate!" The two twins eyes widen in shock as they lowered their hands slightly.

"What did you say?" Asked Luffy .

"Red hair?" Questioned Aya.

"Wait, are you saying that you knew Shanks?" demanded Luffy.

"That's right." growled Buggy.

" Do you know where he is now?" asked Aya.

"I don't know. Maybe I do, maybe I don't." said Buggy, looking menacingly. Aya growled in annoyance.

"What are you talking about? Did you forget?" said Luffy. Aya placed her hand on her forehead as she facepalmed herself. _"I suppose ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to Luffy." _thought Aya to herself.

"NO, I DIDN'T FORGET, YOU MORON!" shouted Buggy at Luffy. Luffy grinned.

"Fine. I'll make you tell us!" He shouted.

"You can try, but you'll be dead before you get a chance to ask. Rubber can't bounce back knives." said Buggy. Then he looked at Aya. "I will cut you into little ribbons, little girl." Aya laughed.

"You wish." said Aya. Buggy growled. He stomps his shoes, making knives appear out of them. Then he throws his lower half at Aya, cartwheeling on the ground. Aya narrowly dodges out of the way in time. Then Buggy threw daggers straight at her but Luffy catches them between his fingers.

"Did you forget, you fighting me as well?" asked Luffy as he tossed the blades aside.

"Ho, ho, how interesting." said Buggy. Luffy giggled.

"You're not so bad yourself, but it's my turn now! Gum-Gum Pistol!" shouted Luffy as he leaped into the air throwing his fist back.

"I can predict your attack in the air." said Buggy. He moved out of the way just as Luffy crashed down, creating a crater in the ground.

"Shut up, you idiot!" shouted Luffy as he charged at Buggy throwing his fist back but Buggy separated his head from his body, dodging the attack.

"Damn it! Stop breaking into pieces!" growled Luffy. Buggy laughed. Aya frowned and groaned in frustration. _"This is going nowhere. How can we beat him?"_ She thought to herself.

"I can't believe they're still fighting? These three are insane!" said Nami, watching from afar hiding behind the corner of a building. In the middle of the fight, some of the Buggy pirates have woke up.

"Did you see that?!" one of them said.

"Be quiet! Act like you're still unconscious. If we get involved in this, we'll never make it out of here alive." said the other. All of them began sweating nervously as they silently watch pretending to be knocked out.

Buggy shoots his arm, with four daggers at Aya. She catches it, but then she froze when she saw Buggy smirk. _"Why is he smirking?_" thought Aya to herself.

"Separate!" shouted Buggy as he detached his fist from his wrist. Aya tried to maneuver out of the way but managed to get a scratch on her cheek while Luffy had a scratch on his temple. Buggy laughed hysterically.

"How do you like that, you cocky brats?!" He shouted in a taunting tone. "You ready to give up yet." Then his expression changed into a frown when he didn't receive a reply from the two of them. Blood began to run down the side of Luffy's face. He had a darkened look in his eyes as he hold his hat. On the edge there was a small cut. Aya cringed at his expression. Then she turned towards the clown pirate.

"You donked up. BIG time." said Aya.

"YOU BASTARD!" screamed Luffy. Buggy nearly jumped, startled by Luffy's shout at him.

"You mad that I scratched your face?" Buggy snickered, not realizing what he had just done. Luffy glared at him, clenching the hat tightly in his hand.

"Bastard. How dare you damage this hat. No one damages my lucky hat and gets away with it. THIS HAT IS MY ONLY TREASURE! I WON'T FORGIVE ANYONE WHO SO MUCH AS LAY A FINGER ON IT!" roared Luffy, angrily. Buggy raised an eyebrow in surprise at the boy.

Nami was stunned as she watched. "And here I thought he couldn't take anything seriously. But just look at him, he's getting so upset over a scratch in his hat." She murmured as she continued to watch. Luffy grinded his teeth angrily.

Buggy made a wicked smile. "It seems that hat has a history to it, is it really all that special?" He asked.

Luffy didn't answer him as he continued to glare furiously at him. However, the two twins were unaware that there was a floating hand behind them as it throws two daggers. Luffy saw the attack and quickly jumped out of the way. Aya manages to jump out of the way as well, but, the dagger slices through her necklace as the chain got caught around it, retreating as it reattached itself back onto the clown pirate.

"If it's that important...YOU SHOULD PROTECT IT PROPERLY!" shouted the clown pirate. To Luffy's horror another hand shot out at fast speed and before he could react, it grabbed his hat and it was ripped it away from him.

Luffy hit the ground with a thud as the hand retreated back towards the clown pirate. Buggy grinned wildly at the two twins as he hold their treasures. "How is this tattered hat a treasure? HAHAHA! Treasure is sparkling gold, silver and jewels. Like this necklace!" Buggy smirked as he looked at it closer. Aya gritted her teeth angrily.

"Give it back!" She growled.

As Buggy inspected the necklace further, his eyes widen as they bulged in pure shock. Then he looked back at Aya. He went completely pale. "WHY DO YOU HAVE ONE OF THE NINE PIECES OF EIGHT?!" shouted Buggy. He stared at the girl in disbelief.

"I don't care what it is! You better give it back!" shouted Aya. "Give it back, right now!"

"And you give me back Shank's hat! You bastard!" shouted Luffy.

Buggy looked at the hat in his hand. "You really consider this worthless dirty straw hat a treasure? You need to grow up!" He laughed.

"Shut up!" shouted Luffy. "That's Shank's hat! He gave it to me and I promised to give it back!"

"You better give me back my necklace right now as well." said Aya, darkly.

"What?! You mean to tell me that this used to be Shank's hat?" asked Buggy in disgust. "No wonder it looked so familiar." Then he threw the hat on the ground.

"He always wore it, when I knew him." said Buggy. Luffy gasped. Aya's eyes widen in shock. They were on the same ship together?

"You and Shank's were on the same ship?!"

"Yeah, back when we were pirates-in-training, we were fellow comrades...that damned, detestable, red-haired bastard." Then Buggy crushed the hat underneath his foot as he stomped on it.

"Shanks is a better man than you'll ever be! You have no right to call him comrade and DON'T YOU EVER BAD MOUTH HIM AGAIN!" shouted Luffy as he ran towards the clown pirate.

He threw his fist back to punch Buggy in the face but he saw it coming. Buggy detaches his head from his body but Luffy quickly reacted and swung his leg and kicked the clown pirate right in the gut. Buggy wheezed as he cursed himself for falling for Luffy's trick. He fell to the ground and reattached himself back together.

Buggy coughed and wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. Then Luffy grabbed his shirt and lifted him into the air.

"Don't you ever mention Shanks name again, you bastard!" shouted Luffy.

"I can say what I want about Shanks, you little brat." said Buggy.

"Tell me what happened between you and Shanks! Where is he?!" hissed Luffy. "Damn it! How dare you do that to my hat!"

"Do you really want to know?" asked Buggy as his eyes flashed in fury.

"He is the one person I loathe. I will curse his name for the rest of my life. As long as there is breath in my body, I will never forgive him."


	6. Devil Fruit Power Showdown!

"In all my life I've never met a man who pissed me off as much as he did. That bastard Shanks cost me everything." said Buggy. "I don't know how you two know him but I can say whatever I want about him. I've earned that."

"Then tell me what happened!" demanded Luffy.

"It all happened a long time ago, back when I was still a pirate apprentice and Shanks and I were crew mates on the same ship." Buggy growled angrily as he explained to the two twins.

* * *

_On the deck of a ship a group of pirates were gathered around as they cheered to the two young teenagers who were quarreling and arguing. One of the boys was a young man with short red hair wearing a light blue and black striped shirt and dark blue pants and a straw hat, Shanks. The other boy had blue hair, wearing a white shirt with burgundy stripes and brown pants and a knit hat, Buggy. _

_"The North Pole!" shouted Buggy._

_"No, South Pole!" Shanks shouted back._

_"There you go again!"_

_"That's right and I can say it as many times as I want because I'm right, you clown!"_

_"Ho, ho, you have lots of guts, let's fight. I'm going to settle this once and for all!"_

_"Well, come on then, go ahead and try!"_

_"Bring it on! I'm going to beat the crap out of you." yelled the two boys as they got into each others faces. _

_The crowd of pirates cheered and began placing bets as to two were punching each other. Suddenly, a tall man walked up behind the two men and whacked them both on the head._

_"Enough of this. Who cares which one is colder, the North Pole or the South. If you really want to know, then why don't you go there and find out!" said the tall man. The other pirates laughed. Shanks and Buggy glared at each other while rubbing their heads. Then a man from the crows nest yelled a warning to his crew mates as he spotted an enemy ship heading towards them._

_"Alright, prepare for launch, it's time to fight." said the tall man. The other crew members smiled trembling with excitement. "Yes, sir!" They all shouted. Buggy smirked, ready for a fight._

_"Alright, I'm going to grab everything I get my hands on!" said Buggy. _

_"You look happy, Buggy." said Shanks, smiling._

_"Of course! The enemy ship is like a big floating treasure chest. It's only natural for a pirate to try and raid it, am I wrong?" exclaimed Buggy as he got up and pulls out two blades._

_"Well, that is one of the reasons." replied Shanks._

_"No, no, you and all the pirates on this ship are too weak! Taking treasure from people is what pirates do, you know nothing about being a pirate!" said Buggy in a taunting tone of voice. But, Shanks smiled._

_As the two ships got close to each other, they began blasting their cannons. Shanks, Buggy and the other crew mates boarded the ship and began taking out some of the enemy pirates. Buggy slashed at another pirate who insulted him. As Buggy turned to leave, he spotted something as it rolled out from the pirate's shirt. He took it and unrolled the paper and his eyes widen._

_"This is?! It's a treasure map, I've never seen one before, incredible!" said Buggy as he scanned the map. He sees that there is an "X" mark pointing on the sea._

_"So, the treasure is buried beneath the ocean." thought Buggy to himself. He quickly hid the map under his shirt as he smirked darkly._

_"Alright, my life is going to be a lot more exciting from now on!"_

* * *

_Nighttime fell as the moon was shining high in the starry sky. The pirates celebrated as they threw a party for a mission success on the stolen treasures that they took from the enemy ship. While they were partying, Buggy was outside sitting on the deck with his legs crossed, looking at the treasure map. He grinned with eagerness until someone called out to him._

_"Hey Buggy!" Buggy cringed. He recognized the voice and he turned to see Shanks as the red-haired pirate walked over to him, slightly drunk. Shanks face was flushed and he was holding a bottle of sake._

_"Aren't you going to celebrate with everyone? We managed to steal some pretty interesting loot this time." said Shanks. Buggy's face began to sweat bullets as he panicked. He quickly hid the map._

_"I-I never stole anything! I don't know anything about it! Go away!" shouted Buggy, nervously. Shanks looked at him weirdly, confused._

_"Huh, what are you talking about?" He asked._

_"Uh...nothing." said Buggy. He sighed in relief, as he realized that Shanks didn't see the map. Then the red-haired pirate took a seat next to the clown pirate and they looked up at the full moon in a daze. _

_"You said you would leave this ship one day, right? What do you plan to do after you leave?" asked Buggy._

_"I want to get my own ship, gather a group of reliable crew members, and see the world, but, I'm going to take my time...as pirates, of course!" replied Shanks. Buggy laughed._

_"What nonsense."_

_"What did you say?"_

_"I do admire your fighting skills, if you weren't a big softy, it'd be nice to have you as my first mate." said Buggy._

_"Me? As your first mate? I don't think so!" Shanks declined. Buggy looked at him with disbelief. Shanks took another sip of his sake._

_"We have different outputs in life, it's better if we go on our own paths...that's what pirates do." He said. Buggy laughed._

_"Can you even become a pirate?" He asked and smirked. "You do know though, that if we ever meet again on the ocean, I'll have to kill you."_

_"Ah, pirates do those things too." said Shanks, smiling._

_"I really don't understand you at all." said Buggy. Neither of them spoke for a while then Buggy remembered something that he wanted to ask._

_"Speaking of which, you said something about loot?"_

_"Ahh! I forgot about that!" said Shanks. "We found a Devil Fruit on the enemy ship!"_

_"Devil Fruit?" questioned Buggy._

_"Yeah, there's a rumor that says the fruit is the reincarnation of a sea devil. They say if you eat it, you'll have the powers of a devil, but you won't be able to swim again." explained Shanks. Buggy raised an eyebrow at what the red-haired pirate had said._

_"You would have to be stupid to do that." scoffed Buggy, uninterested. Then he turned to the night sky with a smirk. At first he wanted to eat the Devil Fruit and gain it's powers. He would be the most powerful and fearful pirate on the seas. But, what about the hidden treasure? "If I can't swim, then I won't be able to get the treasure at the bottom of the ocean." thought Buggy to himself._

_"I always heard that the fruit can be sold for a hundred million berries." Buggy broke out of his thoughts just as he heard what Shanks had said._

_"Oh, I see."_

_His eyes widen in shock._

_"WHAT?!"_

* * *

_The next morning, Buggy was standing on the deck, holding the Devil Fruit that looked like a pineapple. It was red and had swirly patterns. _

_"I, Buggy the pirate, will now eat the Devil Fruit!" declared Buggy. One of the crew members laughed with enthusiasm._

_"You got to love the kids." He said. "Never considering the consequences."_ Then Buggy ate the Devil Fruit in one huge bite. The crowd watched in awe, waiting to see if anything happens.

_"Well, Buggy, feel anything strange?" asked one of the crew members._

_"Uh, no, nothing." said Buggy as he examined his body. The crew sighed in disappointment. They all walked off as they went back to their duties. However, as they left, Buggy made an mischievous smile._

* * *

_Soon, nighttime fell, Buggy was sitting in one of the escape boats, by himself. He smirked evilly as he laughed. Turns out that he stole the real Devil Fruit and switched it out with fake one and pretended to eat it in front of his crew mates. _

_"Yes, the plan went smoothly." said Buggy. "Those guys would never think that the one I ate this morning was a fake. To be on the safe side, I should leave the ship before they start to suspect anything. After I sell this Devil Fruit and find the treasure on the map, I'll have enough money to form my own pirate crew!" Suddenly, Shanks appeared from out of nowhere and walked up behind him._

_"Hey Buggy!" The clown pirate jumped and he quickly hid the Devil Fruit as he shoved it into his mouth just as Shanks approached him. _

_"What are you grumbling about?" said Shanks._

_"Oh, it's you." Buggy sighed in relief when he saw that it was Shanks. "Don't scare me like that." Shanks looked at him strangely seeing that the clown pirate's cheeks were swelled up from the Devil Fruit that was in his mouth. _

_"Don't be so jumpy." asked Shanks. Buggy glared at him not answering. "If you're stealing food from the kitchen again, you'd better stop. You'll get scolded by the cook." said Shanks as he walked away from the boat. Buggy wiped his forehead, relieved that Shanks hadn't suspected anything._

_"That was too close." murmured Buggy. Before he could relax, Shanks appeared again._

_"Oh, yeah, just remembered! The captain..." Buggy jumped as he was startled and he accidently swallowed, gulping down the Devil Fruit. Buggy's eyes widen in horror as he sat in silence. Shanks looked at him confused. Then Buggy turned around sharply and grabbed Shanks roughly by his shirt, in rage._

_"SHANKS! YOU...YOU! YOU BASTARD! WHY...WHY...WHY?!" roared Buggy. Shanks stared at him confused until he saw a piece of paper began to float away drifting towards the sea._

_"What's that paper over there?" asked Shanks. Buggy quickly let go Shanks and saw the treasure map flying away. He screamed and instantly jumped out of the boat, over the ship, to grab it. "Wha? Buggy?!" shouted Shanks, confused._

_As Buggy dove into the sea, he felt his entire body go numb, paralyzed. _

_"What the? I can't move! The rumor about not being able to swim is true! Damn it!" He tried to move his hands and feet, but couldn't and began sinking deeper into the dark abyss below.._

_Up above, Shanks watched, worried, waiting for Buggy to come back up. It has been a minute now and he hasn't still surfaced. "Buggy? What are you doing? Why aren't you swimming?" Shanks called out to him. He watched as he saw the ripples and bubbles began to lessen until there was none. "Buggy?!"_

_Buggy's vision began to grow dark as he couldn't breath as he was losing air. "Help...Help me..." thought the clown pirate as he drifted farther down._

_Shank's eyes widen in panic and he quickly tore off his hat and removed his shoes, climbed onto the railing and dove into the water._

_"I'll save you, Buggy!"_

* * *

"So Shanks saved you life!" said Luffy.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE! Because of him, I was unable to swim and unable to obtain my sunken treasure!" said Buggy. "But I have finally realized...if I can't get the treasure then I'll take all the treasures on dry land with my Chop-Chop power!" Then he split himself in half and floated above the two twins.

"So if anyone dares to touch my treasure, no matter who they are, I won't let them live!" said Buggy. He pulls out eight daggers, holding them in between each of his fingers. Then Buggy launched himself towards the two twins. But, as Buggy got closer, he passed them.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU THIEF!" yelled Buggy. Luffy and Aya turned to see Nami with a huge sack on her shoulder, trying to sneak away. The two twins realized that they weren't Buggy's target that he was after. It was Nami. Nami cursed as she saw the clown pirate charging towards her.

"Oh crap! He saw me!" shouted Nami. She tried to run but the heavy sack was slowing her down.

"No matter where you run, I'll find you, Nami!" shouted Buggy. "I'm going to slice and dice you up!" As Buggy got closer to the girl, he crossed his arms into an "x" getting ready to strike. Nami's eyes widen and she gasped.

_"No, no! I can't die now. I-I made a promise. I refuse to die!"_ thought Nami to herself. She heard Buggy's laugh as he was getting closer. Nami shut her eyes and bent down on her knee waiting for the blades to pierce into her skin. But, nothing happened. Curious, Nami opens one eye to see that the clown pirate had froze in front of her. He had an pained look on his face.

_"What happened?" _thought Nami. She looked behind Buggy and she was dumbfounded by what she had saw. Luffy had kicked the clown pirate right on the crotch. Buggy had left his other half unprotected. Luffy smirked. Buggy fell to the ground, howling in agonizing pain.

"M-m-my...balls... my b-b-balls! That was a cheap shot!" He choked. His other half trembled in pain as well. Luffy turned to Buggy with a big grin on his face.

"Hey did you forget! You're fighting us!" He said. Then he saw Nami and waved.

"Hey, Nami." said Luffy. "You should probably let go of the treasure and run." He said, pointing to the sack of treasure on the girl's back. "He'll come after you again, if you don't give it back."

"No! Leave this treasure? Definitely not! This treasure is worth ten million berries! Why should I throw away _my _treasure?!" argued Nami. Aya smirked.

"You know, for some someone who talks about treasure the way you do. You sure do talk like a pirate." She said. Nami glared at her.

"I am not a pirate!" She shouted.

"Your... treasure?!" yelled Buggy. The three saw that he was starting to recover.

"Of course it is!" exclaimed Nami. "I'm a thief who steals from pirates. Now that I've stolen yours, it makes it MY treasure now, understand?" She said with determination then raised her fist in the air. Luffy smashed his fist against his palm as he understood.

"Ahh! That makes sense." He said.

"Bullshit! Those are my treasures!" growled Buggy. "Just because you stole it, doesn't make it yours, you dirty stinking thief! Honestly, what did your parents teach you?!" Nami looked at him.

"A thief lecturing another thief is...ridiculous." She smirked. Buggy's turned red like a tomato as he was furious.

"What did you say?!" He shouted.

"Whatever. The day I'll take a morality lesson from you is the day I'll stop being a thief!" shouted Nami and she sticks her tongue out.

"You better prepare yourself, Nami!" cried Buggy. Then he separated all of his body parts, which startled Luffy, Aya, and Nami who were caught off guard. Buggy turned to the two twins.

"HAHAHA! You think you can help your friend, you better start doing it now!" He shouted. Then all of the parts charged directly at Nami and she ran.

"Damn him!" shouted Luffy.

"Return my treasures!" shouted Buggy as he chased after the thief.

"NO!" shouted Nami.

"Get back here, you little bitch!" shouted Buggy.

"I'm not some weak little girl so don't UNDERESTIMATE ME!" shouted Nami. Then she swung her at Buggy's head. Luffy cheered. But, the sack didn't hit the clown pirate as his hands had caught the bag. He smirked.

"Thank you so much for returning my treasure, Nami." said Buggy. He tries to pull the treasure away from Nami, but she pulls it back.

"Let go!" shouted Buggy.

"No, you let go!" shouted Nami. "This treasure is mine!"

"No, it's mine I stole it first!" shouted Buggy. Luffy and Aya watched the two as they tugged the sack back and forth. Aya turned to Luffy.

"Should we step in?" She asked, unsure. Luffy smirked.

"Didn't you hear my sister?! We're your opponents!" He shouted.

Luffy ran towards the two then he leaped into the air. "Gum-Gum PISTOL!" His legs stretched as he kicked Buggy right in the face. The clown flew backwards, knocking the sack out of Nami's hands as he collided with it. The treasures fell out of it was it went flying everywhere. Buggy skidded on the ground then smacked straight into a stone wall. His limbs fell to the ground lifeless, as he was knocked out. Luffy grinned triumphantly while Nami stared, stunned.

"You can take that kick as a gift from the mayor!" shouted Luffy.

"Thanks. You saved my life." said Nami. Luffy grinned.

"No problem. Oh yeah, did you get the map?" He asked.

"Yup, I have it." said Nami as she sighed in relief.

"It's not over yet, you straw hat bastard!" a voice called out. Luffy, Aya, and Nami's eyes widen as they turned to see Buggy had gotten back up. He glared at the three with a dark look on his face.

"Man, why won't he just stay down?" groaned Aya.

"What?! You're still alive!?" exclaimed Luffy, annoyed.

"I'm far tougher than you think. No matter how much pain you inflict on me, nothing will keep me down. I will make you pay for challenging me!" exclaimed Buggy. Nami cringed. She looked around until an idea popped into her head and she quickly runs off.

"Now, get ready to DIE!" shouted Buggy. Luffy and Aya frowned, and got into a fighting stance, getting ready.

"Reassemble! Chop-Chop parts!" Shouted Buggy. Every single part of Buggy began to fly towards him, reattaching. But, something was wrong. Aya snickered as she covered her mouth with her hand at what she had saw. Before the twins, stood Buggy but he was very tiny in size. Luffy blinked as he stared baffled at the clown pirate's form. Buggy was missing a few limbs, but had his hands and feet.

Then Buggy heard someone laughing behind him. He looked to see Nami but what else he saw made his mouth drop with shock. His other parts were all tied up with rope.

"Are you looking for these?" taunted Nami.

"MY PARTS!" exclaimed Buggy. Luffy threw his head back, laughing.

"Nami, no wonder you're a thief, you're damn good at it." He said in a sing-song tone of voice. Then he looked at Buggy and smirked.

"See ya, Buggy!" shouted Luffy as he charged towards the clown pirate. Buggy screamed.

"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" shouted Luffy as he threw multiple punches at the clown pirate, sending him flying into the sky.

"I win!" Luffy giggled happily. Then he stopped as he looked down at his hat, lying on the ground. Aya saw something shining and walked over to it and bent down. Her eyes widen in surprise when she saw that it was her necklace. Buggy must have dropped it during the fight. She picked it up, holding it. She frowned as she saw that the chain was broken. Aya slipped it into her pocket for safe keeping. Luffy bent down and picked up his hat with a sad look on his face. Nami looked at him emphatically.

"I'm sorry about your straw hat." She said.

"It's okay. I can still wear it. I'm not angry anymore since Buggy is beaten." said Luffy as he put it on, smiling. For some reason, Nami could tell that it was fake.

"Don't worry." She mumbled. "I'll help patch it up later." Luffy stared at her with wide eyes.

"Eh? What?"

"Nothing at all." said Nami. Then she turned away, Luffy followed after her. Nami grabbed the sack of treasure that was split in two as it was torn by Buggy.

"Could you help me carry this, Luffy? Cause the bag split and I had to split it in two and it's heavy." She said as she held out another bag to Luffy.

"You don't give up do you?"

"Hey, Buggy is really selective about his treasure, so everything is high quality all of this is probably worth ten million berries and it's all mine." said Nami. Then she held out the map of the Grand Line to Luffy. He looked down at it confused.

"You wanted it, right? So, take it if you want to travel to the Grand Line easily." said Nami.

"Are you sure? I mean, you worked really hard to get it." asked Aya.

"It's okay, after all you two saved my life."

"Thanks Nami!" Said Luffy. "Does that mean you're joining my crew?" He asked. Nami's smile disappeared and she frowned.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not going to be a pirate...but, being with you guys I'll get to earn more money so I guess I could join." said Nami. Luffy cheered. The three walked over to Zoro who was sleeping. Luffy bent down, waking him up.

"Hey, Zoro, wake up!" said Luffy as he slapped Zoro's face with his hand. Zoro groaned as he sat up, crossing his legs and scratched his head.

"The fight's over already?" asked Zoro as he let out a big yawn.

"Yep, and we got a map of the Grand Line and a navigator, isn't it great!" said Luffy smiling. Zoro looked up and glared at Nami. She went completely stiff, not moving a muscle. Then Zoro starts to sway a little. Aya caught him before he fell. He blushed when he was that it was her. Aya smirked. "Does the big bad swordsman need help?" She said in a teasing tone of voice. Zoro glared at her until he felt a sharp pain from his wound. He hissed as he shut his eyes tightly in pain.

"Ugh, I don't feel so good." groaned Zoro.

"Of course, if you try to move, you'll only get worse. You two are not human after all!" exclaimed Nami.

"What did I do?" pouted Luffy.

"YOU are the strangest one of them all!" shouted Nami. "Anyway should we check on the mayor?" She said as she looked down at the unconscious man lying on the ground.

"Oh, yeah, we should probably wake up the old man." said Luffy. Before he or anyone could move, a shout stopped them. They turned to see a large group of people as they approached them.

"You there! You aren't from around here, are you?" asked one of them.

"Nope, who are you?" asked Luffy.

"We're residents of this village. What happened to the pirates? If you know something, please tell us!" said one of the townspeople.

"Oh, your residents." said Nami as she relaxed. "I thought you were more enemies." Nami was about to saw something until one of them let a shout.

"Oh mayor!" The townspeople gasped as they saw their mayor lying on the ground knocked out cold.

"Get a hold of yourself! What happened?!" exclaimed one of them.

"The pirates have done this!" shouted another.

"No, I'm the one who knocked him out." said Luffy. Aya sighed as she twitched her eye, annoyed. _"He just had to go and open his big mouth..."_ thought Aya to herself. Nami gaped in shock while the townspeople glared at the four.

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, you didn't have to say that!" Nami whispered harshly at Luffy. He blinked.

"You saw it." said Luffy.

"I did, but it was for a good reason." said Nami. Then her eyes widen, realizing what she had said. Nami looked and saw the townspeople were now armed with weapons.

"Why did you harm our mayor?!" shouted one of them.

"We are pirates." said Luffy.

"I knew it!"

"It's the truth!"

"Pirate! How dare you cause so much destruction to our village! We won't forgive you even if you are just kids!" said one of the townspeople. Then one of them saw Aya.

"Hey, that girl has green eyes! I bet she's a witch as well!" He said.

"Get the witch!"

Aya backed up as the townspeople were walking closer to the four. "I'm not a witch! You dumbasses!" shouted Aya.

_"We're dead..." _thought Nami as the townspeople started to advance towards the four.

"IDIOT!" screamed Nami. Luffy walked over to Zoro.

"What now, they won't listen anymore?" said Zoro. Luffy grinned.

"RUN!"

Soon the four ran while the townspeople chased after them. Luffy carried Zoro as he ran, while Nami was carried both of the bags of treasures.

"Why don't you always speak before thinking?" shouted Nami.

"This is a good town." said Luffy. Nami blinked, confused. "For the sake of their mayor, everyone's doing their best to fight so even if we told them the truth, they won't listen to us because they're too angry." said Luffy. Nami stared at him in surprise.

"Quickly, let's turn here." She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Luffy turn into the alley. He does it so quickly that she almost loses him.

"W-Wait! You gotta let me know sooner! Hold on!" shouted Nami. The four ran into the alley until they spotted Chou Chou sitting on the ground in front of them. Luffy, Aya, and Nami jump over him as they continued to run. And to their surprise as soon as the angry mob turned into the alley to chase them, Chou Chou started to bark angrily and growl at them. The mob stopped, surprised to see the dog. They tried to get around him, but Chou Chou wouldn't let anyone through.

Both Luffy and Nami looked back with a stunned look on their face. Chou Chou was helping them escape. Luffy smirked.

"Thanks doggy!" He shouted.

* * *

Luffy, Aya, Zoro and Nami made it to the port as they managed to escape from the angry mob.

"Thank goodness, we somehow escaped thanks to Chou Chou. Why do we have to be in this situation?" said Nami.

"It's not that bad. We got what we wanted and now it's time to head off."

"I guess you're right."

"Hey is this your boat? Nice boat." asked Luffy as he saw the Buggy boat.

"Oh that, I stole that boat from a bunch of stupid pirates." said Nami. Then three men appeared behind Nami. It was the three pirates who she stole the boat from. They smirked.

"Stupid pirates, huh?"

"We've been waiting for you, thief."

"Who knew we would meet again on this beach." Nami laughed, nervously. Luffy looks at them the back to her.

"Hey do you know them, Nami?"

"Yeah,...well, a little." answered Nami. One of the three pirates stepped up.

"Of course, we know her, she was the one who stole our boat. But, since that you're all involved, we have to teach you guys some lessons, nobody messes with the Buggy pirates." He said. Then he notices Zoro on Luffy's shoulder.

"Hey you, wake up time for your punishment." He said, smirking, as he tapped Zoro's head. Zoro groaned as he woke up then he shot a menacing glare at the pirate, who dared to disturb his sleep. The three pirates eyes widen in horror when they recognized him immediately. They screamed in terror and ran away, leaving Luffy, Aya, and Nami clueless at what they saw.

"Geez, Zoro, what did you do to those poor men?" asked Aya, snickering.

* * *

Back with the townspeople, the mayor had regained consciousness as he starts to wake up. He opens his eyes slowly and sees them.

"Mayor, you're awake."

"Thank goodness, you're awake." The mayor sighed in relief.

"What in the world happened to you, Mr. Mayor?" He stares at them then looks around at his surroundings. He was stunned as he saw the destruction of some of the buildings and the square.

"What happened?" asked the mayor.

"It's been like this since we've arrived, the rest of the pirates have all disappeared without a trace." said one of the townsfolk.

"Where are the kids?" asked the mayor, but the townspeople gave him confused looks.

"Wait, are you talking about those four?" questioned one of them.

"Then they're alright...those damn kids, actually had the heart to do such an awful thing to an old man like me." said the mayor when he remembered Luffy kicking him in the head.

"Don't worry, mayor. We chased those bastards away." said one of them. Then some of the townspeople started to join in. Some cursing, wishing that they had the chance to kill the four pirates who destroyed their town and what they did to them. The mayor clenched his fists as he grew angrier and angrier as he heard the people's insults.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!" He shouted. The townspeople cringed. They looked at him in shock, wondering why he was angry.

"I'm the only one who's allowed to complain about those kids. I won't let anyone else bad mouth them, you hear me!?" said the mayor.

"I don't understand why you're defending those pirates." said one of the townsfolk.

"Tell me, where are they?" asked the mayor.

"Um, I think they headed to the port." said one of them. The mayor took off towards the direct of the port, ignoring the townspeople's protest.

_"I still have a lot of things to say to you."_ thought the mayor to himself.

* * *

Back at the port, the two boats were starting to sail away.

"You're boat still has Buggy's flag on it, don't you want to take it off?" said Zoro.

"I thought about it, but it'll keep away any unwanted attention if they try to come near us." said Nami. Zoro nodded and started doze off again. Then the four heard a shout as someone was calling out to them. They looked and saw the mayor.

"It's the mayor!" exclaimed Luffy.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I PROMISE I'LL REPAY YOU SOMEDAY!" shouted the Mayor as tears ran down his face, happy. The four smiled as Luffy waved goodbye.

"Don't worry, take it easy, old man!" yelled Luffy. The mayor smiled as he watched the boats sailed off.

"Thank you, Luffy, Aya, Zoro, and Nami." He whispered softly. Then he noticed a sack that was resting on the post on the dock. He opened it and gasped as he saw a lot of treasure in it as it shined brightly.

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?!" screeched Nami. Aya cringed as she felt her ears ring.

"I left the sack on the deck. They're going to need it to rebuild their town." said Aya. Nami stared at her with disbelief.

"You mean you gave five million berries to them." She said.

"Yeah, they're going to need it to rebuild their homes." said Aya.

"But the was MY treasure!" shouted Nami.

"You're a thief, you can steal more." said Aya, shrugging her hands. Nami glared daggers at her, looking like she wanted to strangle Aya any minute. Luffy grinned.

"Yeah, that's true, and since you joined my crew, that means the treasure YOU stole now belongs to ALL of us, and since _I'm _the Captain, I can do what I want with OUR treasure." He said. Nami's jaw dropped. Zoro watched, amused. Aya laughed..

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THOSE ARE MY TREASURE!" shouted Nami.

"Take it easy, Nami." said Luffy as he tried to calm her down.

"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW HARD I WORKED TO STEAL THOSE PRICELESS TREASURES FROM THOSE INGRATE PIRATES!?"

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME FOR? I TOLD AYA TO DO IT BECAUSE THE THEY NEEDED IT MORE THAN YOU DO!" shouted Luffy as he argued back at Nami. Aya watched at the two with an amused look on her face as they bickered back and forth.

"I NEEDED THOSE TREASURES EVEN MORE BECAUSE THEY WERE MINE! I HOPE YOU'RE READY TO REPAY ME BACK HALF THE TREASURE YOU GAVE THEM!"

"EH!? ARE YOU CRAZY? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PAY YOU BACK FIVE MILLION BERRIES?!"

"I DON'T CARE, YOU BETTER COUGH IT UP!" The two continued to bicker with each other. Zoro laughed as he and Aya watch the two bicker at each other.

_"Well, it looks like we've found our navigator." _He thought to himself.

"IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, YOU'RE DEAD!" Shouted Nami. She grabbed Luffy by his head and tried to push him into water.

"STOP IT! I CAN'T SWIM! IF YOU WANT IT SO BADLY THEN _YOU_ GO BACK AND GET IT!" Shouted Luffy as he struggled to pry the thief off of him.

"Ugh, this is going to be a very long day." said Zoro.

"Tell me about it." said Aya in agreement.

* * *

Meanwhile, on an island far off in the ocean, high up on the cliffs, a young man stood watching the sea as the waves danced with a dazed look on his face.


	7. The Honorable Liar, Captain Usopp!

A couple of days has passed as the four sailed in the seas, heading towards their next destination. Nami frowned.

"There's no way we can get to the Grand Line with these conditions." She spoke in a serious tone. Zoro, Luffy, and Aya turned to her. Zoro was resting as he laid against the boat while Luffy was sitting at the front with his legs crossed, eating an apple.

"Your right. We need some meat." said Luffy as he finished his apple, eating the core.

"Yeah, and a little booze wouldn't hurt either." added Zoro.

"And some sweets! I wouldn't mind some sugar too!" said Aya, happily. "I need some energy." Luffy quickly turned to her with a horrified look on his face. "Absolutely not! You're not getting any. Do you remember what happened last time when you ate sugar! It was scary." He said, shuddering. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?" He asked, as a small smirk appeared on his lips.

Luffy leaned in and whispered into his ear. "When Aya's hopped up on sugar, she becomes so hyper she's basically a sugar demon and hard to catch. One time she actually stripped off her clothes." Zoro's eyes widen in shock as he quickly looked at Aya as his cheeks turned red. It's bad enough keeping track of Luffy but he didn't need another energetic monster running around. "You're not getting any. Get something else, instead." He stammered, still blushing.

Aya pouted. "But I want sugar..." She said as she crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks angrily. Nami frowned as she tossed an apple into the air, catching it with her hand.

"That's not what I mean! The Grand Line's a dangerous place. We need more than beer and meat! There are other pirates who want the One Piece and they have way better ships than ours." She explained.

"You're right. We still need a crew. Like a cook and maybe even a musician to keep us entertained." said Luffy.

"A musician?" asked Zoro, laughing. Nami sighed as she reread her map. These three are driving her crazy.

"Lets see. If we head south, we should be able to reach a group of islands. It looks like we can get a ship and the supplies we need there, too." She explained.

Luffy's eyes sparkled as his mouth watered. "Whoooo-hooo! Fresh meat!" He cheered happily raising his hands into the air.

"Ton of booze, too." added Zoro.

"And sugar." Aya quickly pitched in. Zoro and Luffy quickly looked at her "No!" shouted the two of them.

"Is that all you three think about? What am I going to do with you?!" Nami sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the island there was a tiny village known as Syrup Village. It was a quiet and peaceful town.

"RUN! PIRATES ARE COMING! PIRATES ARE COMING! RUN IF YOU WANT TO LIVE! THEY'LL BE HERE ANY MINUTE NOW!" a voice shouted. A slim man with black curly hair, tanned skin, and a very long nose, wearing brown overalls and checkered bandanna and boots ran through the village, screaming out loud.

"RUN! THEY'RE JUST OFF THE SHORE! THEIR BLOODLUST IS UNQUENCHABLE!" He shouted. The young man stopped and panted trying to catch his breath. After he regained his breath, the young man through his head back and laughed.

"Lie! Ha! Ha! Ha!" He laughed. A frying pan came flying towards him and hit the dark curly haired man on the head. He groaned as he held it in pain. "That hurt!"

The villagers came out of their homes glaring at the young man with an annoyed look on their faces.

"You little liar! You're not going to get away this time!" shouted a man, holding a broom as he climbed out the window of his home. Another man kicked open their door holding a broom as well.

"We've had enough!" Then another man burst open his door holding a frying pan.

"This little game is over!" Then all the doors of each house busted open as more people came out holding weapons, charging after the young man. The young man whole body shook with anticipation as the villagers advance closer towards him.

"Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it." He mumbled. As they got closer, he immediately runs off, laughing in delight.

"Just try and catch me!" said the man as he ran towards the woods running deeper into it until he was out of the villagers' sights. The villagers followed after him, but they couldn't find him.

"As man, looks like he got away again!" said one of them.

"That boy has been causing nothing but trouble." said another villager. Soon, they gave up their search and went back to their homes. As the villagers walked off, high in the tree, sitting on a branch, was the young man. He snickered as he watched them leave. He leaned back, resting on the base of the tree feeling the gentle breeze of air blow through his hair and the sun warming him.

"Today, was a good day, again. I've helped add some excitement to this boring village."

"Hey, there he is!" shouted a voice. The long nosed man looked down to see two boys. One was a freckled boy with short spiky purple hair, wearing a red hat with a jolly roger on it. He was wearing a black sweater, a sash, light brown pants and dark brown shoes. The other boy had dark green hair which was shaped like a pepper. He was wearing a light green shirt with the same jolly roger on the front. He was also wearing a sash, dark blue pants, and dark shoes.

"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" said Pepper as he raised his wooden sword.

"Pepper! Carrot! Is it just you guys? Where's Onion?" asked Usopp. Then suddenly the three heard a loud screech as they looked to see a kid came running towards them, screaming his lungs off. The boy had straight brown hair and glasses. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a blue jacket, a sash as well, dark brown pants and black shoes. He had a terrified look on his face.

"Ahhhh! They're here! They're here! They'll kill us all!" screamed Onion.

"It's Onion." said Carrot.

"I wonder what he's freaking out about?" asked Pepper.

"PIRATES ARE HERE! THERE'S A BOAT HEADING TOWARDS OUR VILLAGE!" screamed Onion as he ran up to them.

"Come on, quit playing." said Usopp with a disbelief look on his face.

"I'm not playing!" shouted Onion as he shook his head. "It's true! Pirates are really here!"

"I-it's for real?!" asked Usopp, nervously. Onion nodded his head. "Yes, it's for real. They're here! Then Usopp turned around and began to sprint off. "W-what? Gotta go!" He shouted.

"You chicken!" shouted the three boys at the same

"Actually, I'm sick. I don't feel good."

"You liar!"

"Sir, you always told us that you wanted to be a real pirate one day! Now's our chance!" asked Carrot. Usopp flinched. He had always wanted to be a pirate but to go against other pirates? Fight them? It's suicide!

"What's with you!? What kind of pirate is afraid of other pirates?!"

"I saw Buggy's flag!" said Onion. Usopp began to shake, nervously." B-Buggy the Clown?" He as nervously. The most crazy and bloodthirsty pirate on the seas. No way. There was no way that he was going to face him. "But, I only saw two tiny boats. And there were only four people! Two girls and two guys!" Onion continued. Usopp quickly turned around facing the three boys.

"Okay, men! Let's go and beat the crap out of those no-good pirates! We got a village to protect! Let's go, move out!" He shouted as he ran towards the shore.

"Sir!" Shouted the three boys As they followed after their captain.

As Usopp arrived at the shore, he and the three boys started setting up their plan. As they finished, Hello saw the two boats slowly approaching. He quickly told the three boys to hide as he took cover in the bushes. He pulled down his goggles to examine the pirates that were advancing closely towards the shore.

He saw a boy wearing a straw hat, a man with green moss colored hair carrying swords, a girl with orange colored hair. Then he turned his attention was drawn towards another girl with long black hair. He was taken back by her beauty as he stared at her sea foam colored green eyes. Usopp felt his heart started to skip a beat. It was like he was staring at a goddess of the sea.

* * *

The two boats made it to the island. Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and Aya climbed out and stretched their legs after being on the seas for a couple days. Luffy grinned widely as he stepped off. He could taste the meat already. His body began to shake with anticipation. Zoro yawned and stretched his arms.

"Ahhh!" said Zoro. "Feels good to be on dry land again." He was keeping a close watch on the straw hat captain, knowing that Luffy could run off.

"There's a town close by, right?" asked Aya. She saw a small narrow path that looked like a trail going up a rocky cliff.

"Yeah. But, it's a small one though." said Nami, rereading her map.

"Then that means there's meat here! Yay! Real food for once!" exclaimed Luffy.

"What do you mean real food?" asked Aya. "What about the fruit salad I fixed you?"

"No offense, Aya. But, your cooking, sucks." said Luffy. "Half of the fruits were smashed to a pulp." A vein appeared on Aya's head and she whacked Luffy on the side of his head with her fist.

"Fine then. Next time I won't cook for you even if you beg me to." said Aya.

"No! I'm sorry!"

"Too late." said Aya as she turned her back, looking away from her brother.

"You don't have to get all huffy about it. Why do you have to be so mean?" whined Luffy. He felt his stomach growling and rubbed it. "Man, I'm sooo hungry!"

"Quit thinking about food for once, will ya?!" hissed Nami, annoyed. Zoro yawned again until he heard a sudden rustle from within the bushes above them. He gripped his sword handle tightly, on alert.

"Careful. We're being watched." muttered Zoro. Luffy froze and widely looked around excitedly.

"Who? What? Where?! Is there any meat?!" He asked. Luffy walked closer to Zoro to see where he was looking at.

Suddenly, something launched out from the darkness of the woods, heading towards the group. "Look out!" yelled Zoro. He quickly moved out of the way as a small pellet landed near Luffy's feet. The more shot out from the bushes and Luffy dodged out of the way. Suddenly, flags were raised out from the bushes, surrounding the Straw hat pirates.

"Whoa! This is so coool!" Luffy laughed. His eyes darted around the area.

Then they heard someone laughing out loud above them. The four looked up and saw Usopp, holding onto a pirate flag he planted next to him. Luffy and Aya stared at him. _"He reminds me of someone..."_ thought Aya to herself. She looked at the young man scanning his features until her eyes widen in recognition. _"Could he be Yasopp's son?!"_

"Ha! Ha! Ha! It was wrong of you pirates to show up in my village! I am the great Captain Usopp of the Usopp Pirates and me and my eighty-million men will take you out!" said Usopp. Nami rolled her eyes at his speech. Aya stared, unimpressed.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Luffy. Aya shook her head. Honestly, her brother can be so stupid sometimes. Then she looked up at Usopp and glared at him.

"Hey, you think we're buying this? Eighty-million men my ass!" shouted Aya. Usopp began to feel his confidence slowly slip away from him and soon panic began to flood through his entire body. He flinched from her gaze and stepped back, nervously.

"S-She knows?!" Stammered Usopp, nervously.

"What, he was lying?" asked Luffy, confused.

"Honestly, how dense can you be?" said Aya, shaking her head as she sighed.

"N-no matter! Eighty-million men ma have been an exaggeration, but I great men under my control!" said Usopp, trying not to panic. The flags began to wave and shake from the bushes. Aya smirked.

"Let me guess,...there's three of them, right?" She asked.

"AAHH! She knows!" screamed Pepper, Onion, and Carrot. They dropped the flags and ran away heading towards the village, leaving Usopp.

" Hey, where are you guys going?! Get back here!" Usopp called out desperately to them. He took a step back when he saw Nami step up and picked up the small pellet from Luffy's feet.

"A pirate using a slingshot, huh?" She mumbled to herself, examining the metal ball. "Now I've seen it all." Luffy laughed, a little impressed.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! That was pretty cool!" He giggled. His laugh only managed to anger Usopp and he growled.

"Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you! I'm a proud man and I won't stand for it! This is your last warning. Now, you'll see why they call me proud Usopp! Not pushover Usopp. Is that clear?" Usopp pulled out his green slingshot and armed with a bullet and aimed it Luffy. The straw hat captain grinned. "You've already seen how good I am with this thing! So you know, I can rival any pistol!" Usopp continued. Luffy tipped his hat covering his eyes.

"Now that you've drawn your gun, are you willing..." He said coldly and lifted his head to reveal one eye, with a mischievous smirk on his lips. "To use it?" Usopp froze at his expression. "Guns aren't for threats, they're for action. Are you willing to risk your life?" Luffy continued. Zoro stared at the captain, surprised by his behavior then realized what he was doing and played along. He smirked and walked up to Luffy, pulling out one of his swords. Zoro gave Usopp a sinister look on his face.

"I can assure you, we're _real _pirates. Consider your next move very carefully."

Usopp began to sweat bullets uncontrollably. Then he dropped the metal ball and fell to his knees. "Man, real pirates are so cool. They have action to back up their words. You guys really are pirates." He moped, shaking his head. Luffy and Zoro looked at each other before the two of them laughed. Luffy bent over, giggling as he held his stomach.

"I stole those lines!" He laughed. Usopp looked at him confused and blinked. "Huh?"

"I stole those words from red-haired Shanks, a pirate I know." explained Luffy.

"What?! You know Red-Haired Shanks? You're lying, right?! You actually knew him!" asked Usopp in disbelief. Luffy smiled and nodded happily.

"Yep. And me and my sister also know your dad. His name is Yasopp, right?" He asked. Usopp gasped in shock at his father's name and lost his balance, falling off the cliff and landing on the ground.

Aya cringed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm okay." Usopp groaned. "My old man's name is Yasopp. How do you know him?" He asked as he sat up.

"I'll tell you but, first, let's grab some meat. I'm starving." said Luffy. "Do you know where we can get something to eat?"

* * *

Usopp led the four to the restaurant in the village and ordered food.

"My sister and I met your dad when we were just little kids." said Luffy as he took a sip of his drink.

"Hold on, so my old man really know Shanks?" asked Usopp, excitedly. Luffy nodded and took at bite from his meat. "Know him? Last time we've saw him he was running around with Shanks' crew. They seemed like really good friends.

"I can't believe it. My old man sailing the seas with famous pirates!"

"Your dad talked about you constantly."

"It was kind of annoying, actually." added Aya.

Luffy made a mischievous grin. "Yeah, he would constantly try to ask Aya, trying to set up an arrange marriage between you two." He smirked. Usopp blush as he looked at Luffy stunned. Aya's mouth dropped and she looked at Luffy with a shocked look on her face. "Why did you have to tell him that part?!"

"Cause it's true." said Luffy as he blinked.

"But you didn't have to tell him THAT!" Luffy laughed as Aya hit him. He looked at Usopp. "Your dad was a hell of a sharp-shooter. He once told me that he could shoot off an antennae from an ant a mile away. He was a great pirate!"

"I sure am proud of my old chose a pirates life on the endless seas full of risks and real adventures." Usopp sighed happily.

"Then maybe you can help us?" asked Nami.

"Hm, what do you mean?" asked Usopp, turning to navigator.

"Do you know anyone in this village who can help provide us with a larger ship?" asked Nami.

"Sorry, no." Usopp said, sadly. "Well, it's a pretty small village, there's no way I can help you."

"What about that mansion?" asked Zoro. Usopp cringed. Zoro gestured outside the window, pointing towards a giant house. "On top of that hill over there?"

"Do you know them, Usopp?" asked Nami when she saw Usopp twitch. "Maybe they can help us get a ship."

"You stay away from there!" shouted Usopp, jumping to his feet.

Everyone looked at him surprised. Aya looked at him, confused. "Is there something wrong with that place?" She asked. Aya saw Usopp twitch again, then he turned to her, staring at her for a minute. He shook his head.

"I just realized I have something to do! I got to go!" He shouted as he took off running, leaving the group. "Don't worry about the bill. I've already talked with the owner his a good friend of mine, see ya!"

"I wonder why he was in such a hurry to get out of here?" asked Nami. Luffy, Aya and Zoro shrugged and continued eating their meals.

* * *

On top of the hill there was a mansion, that was heavily guarded. It had a large garden with flowers. Inside one of the rooms, there was a young girl sitting in her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. She was slim, with very light skin and complexion as if she didn't go out much, and blond hair.

However, she wasn't alone in the room. Next to her was a man that stood in the farthest corner, watching her. He was slim and tall man with glasses and green-black hair that was neatly combed back. He also wore a black suit with two yellow garnishments on it over a white shirt and black tie and stripped shoes. He was her butler, Klahadore.

"You want to see him again, Miss Kaya?" Klahadore sighed.

"I like talking to him." said Kaya, softly. Klahadore sighed and readjusted his glasses.

"That man is without a doubt a chronic liar." He said. "He will do you no good."

"But, I-" Klahadore interrupted her. "Before your parents passed, they've entrusted me with your well-being." He said firmly as he readjusted his glasses, again. "I cannot go against their wishes." Kaya sighed and looked down sadly as she hugged the pillow to her chest.

"I leave your medicine right here. Please take it, Miss Kaya." said Klahadore as he placed a tied up package, sitting on the tray as he sat it on the desk. Then he walked out of the room.

"Killjoy." Mumbled Kaya, softly.

"Killjoy, indeed. But, my answer is still no. " said Klahadore as he left shutting the door.

* * *

Usopp managed to sneak past the guards as he used his secret passage, pulling out a piece of the hedge. He climbed through it and climbed up a tree that was next to Kaya's room. He tossed a small pebble at the window, catching the girl's attention.

She turned and saw and opened the widow, smiling, happy to see him.

"Usopp, you came!" She said.

"Of course, I did. You seem a little down, what's up?" said Usopp as he seated himself on the branch.

"I'm sorry, I want to treat you as a guest but Klahadore won't allow it." Kaya sighed, sadly. "He's not a bad person, though."

"Don't sweat it. I'm a brave warrior of the seas after all!" said Usopp as he waved her off, grinning. The two of them laughed.

"So what story are you going to tell me, today?" asked Kaya.

"Hmm...let's see. How about the time I fought a goldfish at the South Pole when I was only seven years old."

"A goldfish?" asked Kaya in disbelief.

"A _giant _goldfish!" Usopp told her. "I thought that I landed on an island but it wasn't an island, it was it's poop that I was stepping on." He said and gave Kaya a disgusted look, grinning. The two laughed enjoying their time together.

* * *

Back at the restaurant, Luffy, Zoro, Aya and Aya were enjoying their meals and drinks. But, just outside, three kids, Pepper, Onion and Carrot were watching them.

"That's them." confirmed Pepper.

"Let's go and save our captain!" hissed onion.

"THE USOPP PIRATES HAVE ARRIVED!" screamed the three of them as they kicked open the door of the restaurant. Luffy, Zoro, Aya, and Nami looked at them startled as they came in.

"Who are these kids?" asked Nami.

"Hey pirates! What did you do to our beloved captain, Usopp!?" shouted Pepper as he pointed his wooden sword towards them.

"Careful, brat. You could put your eye out with that thing." said Aya as she moved it away.

"Where is our captain?!" screamed Onion and Carrot in an demanding tone. Luffy took a sip of his drink, ignoring them.

"Ah! That meat was so good!" He sighed happily as rubbed his stomach.

"M-Meat?" The three kids stammered nervously as they huddled together.

"W-what have you done with our captain, you savages !?" asked Pepper as the three kids began to shake and sweat, nervously with dread. Zoro grinned enjoying the look on their faces as they were terrified.

"We _**ate **_him." He said sinisterly. The three boys screamed and looked at Nami terrified.

"Cannibals!"

"Why are you looking at me?!" yelled Nami as she slammed her fist down on Pepper's head, causing a bump. Zoro laughed, covering his eyes with his hand.

"You really had us going there." Pepper sighed in relief. The three boys led Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Aya to the mansion that was on top of the hill.

"Woah, this place is huge!" said Luffy as he looked at the mansion in awe.

"If you're looking for our captain, then this is the place he's going to be." said Onion.

"Why didn't he tell us that he knew them?" asked Aya.

"Because he's a liar." said Carrot.

"That's terrible!" scolded Nami.

"He's not a bad guy. He's great!" said Pepper.

"Yeah, he's awesome!" replied Onion.

"How's a liar awesome?" questioned Zoro.

"Well, Kaya, the girl who lives there is under a terrible depression ever since her parents died a year ago. So Captain Usopp tells her a special made up story to make her laugh and cheer her up." explained Pepper.

"Well, that's kind of nice of him." said Luffy, smiling.

"Yeah." said Onion, nodding.

"So when he tells her his stories, he makes her feel better?" asked Nami in disbelief. The three boys nodded their heads happily.

"Yeah."

"We should ask her for a ship!" suggested Luffy.

"It won't be easy. There's guards at the gates." explained Pepper. They all turned to see that Luffy was gone. They turned their heads back to see Luffy walking up towards the gates.

"I'll go ask her!" suggested Luffy.

"Luffy, you're not going to-!" shouted Zoro, before Luffy stretched his arms, grabbing the top of the fence.

"HE IS!" shouted Aya.

"Gum-Gum-" Luffy started.

"AAHH! He's a monster!" screamed the three boys as they watched in fear. No normal person could do that.

"ROCKET!" shouted Luffy. Zoro, Nami and Aya grabbed onto the straw hat captain. "NO, LUFFY!" shouted the three of them as they tried to stop him. But it was too late, as Luffy had launched all of them over the fence, sending them all flying into the sky, screaming.

"Then we threw a huge pinball down from the sky, scaring them away, that's how we won." said Usopp as he finished his story. Kaya clapped her hands, happily. Then she saw something in the sky.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing to the sky. Usopp turned around and looked up to see where she was pointing at to see Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Aya falling as they began to descend to fast, heading towards him.

"HEY!" Luffy called out. Usopp screamed in surprise as they all landed into the ground. Luckily, Nami and Aya had landed in the bushes, as it cushioned their landing. But, as for Zoro and Luffy, not to much. Zoro and Luffy had landed on the hard stone pathway face first. Zoro was groaning in pain as Luffy sat up, rubbing his head.

"That worked well." said Luffy, smiling.

"Yeah, real well!" shouted Nami, sarcastically as she glared angrily at the straw hat captain.

"We could've found another way in, idiot." added Aya. "Next time, say something before you decide to do something like that." She growled. Luffy smiled sheepishly.

"Oh my Goodness, are you okay?" asked Kaya, worried.

"Don't mind them, Kaya. They do this all the time. They're just new recruits." said Usopp, nervously.

"We only just met." commented Aya, smiling. Usopp turned to her. "Shut up!" He hissed softly. "Why are you even here?! I told you guys not to come!"

Luffy stood up looking at Kaya. "Actually, I came here to see you." He said, politely. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

"A favor? From me?" questioned Kaya as she blinked, confused.

"Uh-huh, I was wondering if there was any way you could help us get a boat-" But, before Luffy could finish, he was interrupted.

"You there! What do you think you are doing?!" A harsh voice called out. Everyone looked to see the butler walking towards them.

"Klahadore." whispered Kaya.

Klahadore glared at everyone, angrily. He readjusted his glasses. "Get out. I'll have you know that this is criminal trespassing." He said. Usopp flinched as he saw him and quickly hid out of his sight behind the tree as he walked up to the group. Aya glared at him. She didn't like this man, not one bit.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked.


	8. Jango The Hypnotist!

"Actually Klahadore these people are -"

"Not now Kaya. You can tell me all about these riff-raff after they've left. Now get out, all of you. Leave now, unless you have business with me." said Klahadore, sternly, silencing the young girl then adjusted his glasses.

"Oh, do you think you can help us get a ship?" asked Luffy.

"Certainly not." Klahadore dismissed Luffy. Luffy frowned, disappointed. Then Klahadore looked up at the tree next to Kaya's room.

"Usopp!" He called out. Usopp jumped as he was startled, nearly loosing his balance as he hanged upside down from the tree.

"Crap." He cursed under his breath.

"I hear that you're a pirate." said Klahadore.

"Sure, I am." said Usopp as he climbed up back on the branch, chuckling.

"I hear that you've been on many adventures. Quite impressive for someone as young as you." asked Klahadore, doubtfully.

"I'm actually a captain, so it's Captain Usopp to you." said Usopp as he climbed on a branch, standing on it, and chuckled.

"A captain?" Klahadore snickered as he pushed up his glasses. "You're father also had some kind of reputation. A no-good filthy pirate." He said smirking. Usopp glared angrily at the butler.

"What?" He scowled, gritting his teeth. His hands were shaking in fury. Kaya gasped. Aya shot the butler a dirty glare. "_Who does this guy think he is?!" _thought Aya to herself.

"Klahadore, please just stop!" She ordered, but Klahadore ignored her.

"You're never going to be nothing more than the son of a filthy pirate. Who knows what sort of trouble he's doing now? All I ask is that you and your kind leave this respectable young lady alone." said Klahadore.

"A filthy pirate..." growled Usopp.

"You and her live in completely different worlds and you know it. Is it money you're after? How much do you want?"

"That's enough, Klahadore. Apologize to him!" yelled Kaya, angrily. Usopp stared at her, surprised by her outburst.

"Hey, calm down Kaya." He said, worried, seeing that Kaya was leaning out a little too far out the window. He was scared that she was going to fall out of it.

"I don't have any reason to apologize to him. My goal isn't to slander, only just to prove a point." said Klahadore looking at Usopp. "I feel sorry for you. you hate your father don't you? Because your idiot father abandoned his family for the seas and mindless lust for treasure." Klahadore pressed more.

"Klahadore, stop!" shouted Kaya.

"Don't you dare insult my father ever again!" shouted Usopp. Then he jumped down from the tree branch.

"Usopp!" Kaya called out, startled. Then she saw that a hook was secured on the branch as Usopp slide down. She sighed in relief and Usopp landed on the ground and the hook unlatched itself from the branch and went back into Usopp's satchel.

"What has gotten you so worked up, Usopp?" asked Klahadore as he pushed up his glasses. "It's times like these that you do what you do best. Why not lie and tell her about how your father became a traveling salesman? Or that you have nothing to do with him that you're not even related? Or how about your mother-" Krack! Everyone gasped in shock as Usopp punched Klahadore, knocking the butler to the ground.

"See! He resorts to violence! I guess the apple never falls far from the tree, does it?" Klahadore babbled. "SHUT UP!" shouted Usopp. Klahadore flinched. "My father listened to his heart and chose a life of risk and adventure. I am proud to say that my old man is a brave warrior of the seas. I will never lie about who my father is! I refuse to be ashamed of my heritage. I am the son of a pirate!" Usopp declared loudly.

Klahadore snorted. "Pirates are brave warriors of the seas are they? Don't make me laugh." He asked as he got up, dusting off his suit. "It's bad enough that you run around spatting lies. But, the real reason that you want to be close to Miss Kaya is because of her money."

"You're wrong, I only-!"

"Your father is a filthy no-good pirate. Treachery is in your blood!" shouted Klahadore, angrily.

"You just won't let up, will you?!" Shouted Usopp. He grabbed the butler by his suit getting ready to punch him again.

"Stop it, Usopp, please!" begged Kaya. Immediately, Usopp paused and hesitantly lowered his fist. He turned to Kaya. "No more fighting. I can't take it! Klahadore isn't a bad person. He's only doing what he thinks is best for me, but sometimes he can go too far."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Shouted Aya, angrily.

Kaya jumped as she was startled and turned and looked at the sea foam eyes girl in shock, so did everyone else, surprised by her outburst. Luffy blinked as he watched silently. Aya stepped up but Zoro tried to hold her back. "Don't get involved. This has nothing to do with you." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. But, Aya shrugged it off then she looked up at Kaya, giving her a harsh stare. The blond hair girl shivered feeling a chill run through her body.

"I-Is there something wrong?" asked Kaya, nervously.

"You say that you're owner of this place, correct?" Questioned Aya. Kaya smiled. "Yes, but-" But, Aya interrupted her. "Then why are you letting this punk walk all over you? You're the boss aren't you? Why are you letting him do this to you!? He's supposed to take orders from you, not the other way around! Are you freaking stupid or freaking dumb?!" Shouted Aya. Kaya stared at the sea foam eyed girl with wide eyes, completely speechless, as she was stunned with shock. Klahadore glared.

"_Man, she's scary._" thought Usopp to himself.

"That is enough! I do want to hear another word out of you. Lady Kaya is not well enough to decide things on her own. You're making it worse as it is, encouraging her to do so. So stay out of our affairs!" Shouted Klahadore.

"Bullshit!" Shouted Aya. But, she was held back by Nami and Zoro as they grabbed her holding her arms. Aya struggled but their grip was too strong.

"Stop, you're going making things worse for us." Muttered Zoro.

"Honestly, you're like this idiot, always rushing things recklessly." hissed Nami, as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder gesturing to Luffy. A dark shadow casted over Aya's face. Zoro cringed. Then, Aya slowly turned her head looking at Nami.

"Do you want to feel how hard I can punch?" threatened Aya.

Nami slapped Aya on the back of her head. Zoro's eyes widen. Luffy cringed. This is not going well. "What did you say to me?!" Shouted Nami. Aya smirked. "You heard me. You and me, right now, let's go!" Luffy and Zoro tried to hold the girls back.

"Aya, no! We need a navigator!" Begged Luffy as he and Zoro tried to pry the girls apart from trying to kill each other as they tried to throw punches.

As the group were arguing, Klahadore looked at Usopp.

"And as for you, I want you to leave this place. You are never to come here, again!" said Klahadore, coldly.

"Yeah, I get it. You don't have to tell me twice. This is the last that you'll ever see of me." said Usopp. He walked past the butler not even looking at him, leaving the garden.

"Hey, you butler jerk! Our captain is not that kind of guy!" Carrot called out. Klahadore looked and saw the three boys as they climbed over the hedge and ran over to the group, glaring angrily at the butler.

"Jerkface!" The three boys shouted.

"Jerkface!" Shouted Luffy as well. Zoro whacked him on the head. "Stay out of it." muttered Zoro. These two are driving him crazy. Klahadore gave the group a harsh glare. The three boys began shaking and they quickly ran over to Nami hiding behind her.

"What are you doing?! Don't hide behind me!" She shouted.

"You will all leave, immediately!" Ordered Klahadore. The group walked away quietly as they left the garden, dragging Aya away.

"This is not over! You hear me, you butler punk!" She screamed angrily. "THIS. IS. NOT. OVER!" Klahadore smirked.

* * *

Inside, Kaya's room, she was sitting on her bed, holding her pillow crying. She couldn't stop thinking about what Klahadore said to Usopp. Then the sea foamed eyed girl appeared in her mind as her angry face burned into her memory. _"Are you kidding me?! You're the boss aren't you? Why are you letting him do this to you!? He's supposed to take orders from you, not the other way around! Are you freaking stupid or freaking dumb?!"_

Kaya felt her chest began to grow got as she grew angrier. She gripped the pillow tightly with her fingers. Who does this girl think she is? She doesn't know what's she's been through! She can't possibly know how she's feeling! How dare she?! Kaya's eyes widen in shock. Where did that emotion come from? She never felt anything like that before. Could she possibly envy that girl? Suddenly, Kaya heard a knock on the door. Kaya knew who it was and stayed silent not answering. The door opened and a cart wheeled in that carrying food and tea for her as Klahadore entered.

"Time for your meal, Miss Kaya." said Klahadore, softly.

"I don't want it." Mumbled Kaya, refusing to look at him. Klahadore sighed.

"It'll break the Chefs heart to hear you say that. They are trying very hard to come up with food that make you healthy." He said then he picked up a tall pot filled with warm milk and poured it into a tea pot.

"Why did you say that to him?" said Kaya. Klahadore stopped what he was doing and looked at the young girl.

"It was my fault that I saw him without your permission. But, you and didn't have to take it that far." She said. Klahadore stared at the girl sadly and set the pot down on the cart.

"May I sit?" He asked, calmly.

"Go ahead." said Kaya. Klahadore walked over and sat down on the side of the bed.

"It's been 3 years since I've arrived at this house." Kaya looked up and she gasped when she was that Klahadore's shoulders shaking as tears began to build up in his eyes.

"I've never forget that day. I used to work on a ship, but, they fired me because I did not complete my work.I walked and I walked until I arrived at this village. At the time, I didn't have a job, I didn't have any money, and I almost died of hunger. But, your father helped me, he saved my life...and you, are his most precious daughter. I know that it's not good to get involved in your personal life too much. However, I can not find the heart to trust that boy, because...if...if anything was to happen to you. How can I face your father, who took me in?" He covered his face with one hand and his lower lip was trembling, starting to burst into tears.

"I know that I was too hard on him. Are you angry at me?" He asked.

"It's not like that." said Kaya. Klahadore turned to her. "I am very grateful for everything you've done for me, Klahadore. But, Usopp _is_ not a bad person." She said. Klahadore stood up and adjusted his glasses.

"It doesn't matter if he's good or bad." He said.

"Klahadore, you really are a narrow-minded person!" Shouted Kaya.

"Yes, I am." Said Klahadore as he turned his head to Kaya, smiling. Kaya smiled in return.

* * *

In an open road in the middle of a field, Zoro, Nami, Pepper and Carrot were sitting next to a fence. Nami noticed that Luffy and Aya weren't with them.

"Hey, where did Luffy and Aya go?" She asked.

"Who knows, they've probably gone after that "captain." answered Zoro. He rested his back against the fence, sitting on the ground with his arms crossed resting his head on them.

"I bet he's at his secret spot!" exclaimed Pepper.

"Yeah, over by the shore. He's goes there when he needs to think. Wanna go see if he's there?" asked Carrot, as he looked at the swordsman.

"It's fine." said Zoro.

"Luffy can take care of himself, Aya too." Said Nami.

"Wonder where Onion went?" asked Pepper, seeing that he had been gone a long time. Suddenly, the group heard screaming and saw Onion running towards them with a look of horror on his face.

"Terrible news, guys! Listen to me!" He screamed.

"Here he comes." Said Carrot as Onion ran up to them.

"There's a guy in his way here but he only walks backwards!" He shouted.

"You liar." said Pepper and Carrot in disbelief.

"It's the truth!" Shouted Onion then he pointed down the path. "Look! There he is!"

Everyone looked to see a man moon-walking towards them, getting closer. He stopped and looked at them. The man had long gray hair, wearing red heart shaped glasses, a dark blue hat and jacket, olive green pants and gloves, and tall white socks and black shoes.

"Hey! Who told you that I'm weird? I'm not a weirdo. I'm just an ordinary run of the mill hypnotist." The man exclaimed.

"A hypnotist?" asked Onion in awe.

"Awesome! Do something!" asked Pepper excitedly.

"What? What makes you think I would do anything for certain strangers? Fine, then." said the man as he pulled out a ring holding it in front of him.

"Why didn't he just say that in the first place?" Zoro questioned to himself, giving the man a suspicious look.

"Look at this ring closely. On the count of Jango you'll be in a deep sleep." said the hypnotist as the ring began to swing left and right. "One, Two,...Jango!"

The three boys fell backwards lying on the ground fast asleep, including the hypnotist as well.

"Who is this freak?!" exclaimed Zoro.

* * *

On the edge of the cliff near the shores, Usopp was sitting with his legs crossed watching the waves, as he listened to sound of it as the waves crashed onto the beach. It was calming for him. He like to think that it was his father was talking to him, comforting him. Usopp was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Luffy was hanging upside down in front of him from the branch of the tree.

"HI!" Shouted Luffy excitedly. Usopp jumped back, startled.

"What are you doing here?" asked Luffy

"I came here to be alone, but I guess that's not happening!" Said Usopp as he frowned. "Did you follow me? What do you want?!"

"Oh, you know, nothing." Luffy lets go from the branch and started to walk on his hands until he fell forward landing on his face. "Ouch! That hurts."

"We actually came to check on you?" a voice called out. Usopp turned and he let out a startled scream and nearly fell back seeing Aya sitting next to him. Luffy giggled.

"Don't do that!" shouted Usopp as he felt his heart racing, trying to it calm down. "Ahh! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Aya laughed.

"Sorry, we wouldn't want that would we?" Aya laughed. Usopp frowned.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Are you okay?" asked Aya

"I can't believe that butler, insulting my old man like that." mumbled Usopp.

"Yeah, he's was a jerk." said Aya.

"Yeah, I hate that guy, too. No matter what anyone says, Yasopp was a great pirate." said Luffy. Usopp smiled as he felt enthusiasm rush through him, hearing about his dad.

"Yeah, really! I've always looked up to my old man, for always putting his life on the line. He made a brave choice and I admire him for that! That stupid snotty butler stomped all over my pride, he's going to pay for that." said Usopp.

"Hey, wait, do you know if you'll ever see that girl again?" asked Luffy.

"I-I don't know. I'll consider it, if that butler apologizes to me for what he said." answered Usopp.

"You mean that butler right there?" asked Aya as she pointed down below them. It was Klahadore but he wasn't alone.

"Yeah, that's the one, he's-!" Usopp's widen in shock and he immediately ducked down pulling Luffy and Aya down with him. "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HE DOING DOWN THERE?!" He exclaimed. The three listened in on the conversation between the two.

"He's talking to some weird guy." said Luffy.

"I've never seen him before. Who is he?" questioned Usopp.

"Jango, I told you not attract the attention of the villagers. But, you slept in the middle of the street?" said Klahadore, strictly.

"Don't be stupid, I did not attract any attention." said the hypnotist. Klahadore frowned and adjusted his glasses.

"I assume everything is going as planned?" He asked.

"Of course, we can start anytime. We could kill the girl now." said Jango. Luffy, Aya, and Usopp cringed as they gasped in shock.

"K-Kill her?!" stammered Usopp.

"What are those guys talking about?" questioned Luffy.

"Just be quiet. Maybe if we listen a little closer, we'll find out." said Usopp.

"We can't simply kill her. It is very critical that you make it look like that Miss Kaya perishes in an unfortunate accident. So don't screw it up." Klahadore sighed as he frowned at the man's stupidity.

"So, you want me to make it look like an accident, to kill the little rich girl? When you get your inheritance, we'll all get paid, right?"

"You moron, your ignorance is outstanding. We're not related so how can I inherit anything from her?" Klahadore growled.

"Now listen closely, before you kill her, you need to make lady Kaya write her will. And it will say I will leave my entire fortune to my butler, Klahadore." He said with an evil smirk and sinister look in his eyes. Usopp gasped as stared at the terrifying man before him. He couldn't believe it. They were really going to kill Kaya. "Then and only then will I have assume control over her fortune. I've have spent my entire life gaining the trust of everyone around me, so that it would be unsurprising of her to leave her entire inheritance to me. Just make it quick." said the butler.

"That's funny coming from you. You don't think that you're perhaps going soft, Captain Kuro?" Jango snickered. Klahadore shot him a glare.

"Never call me that again. I abandoned that name years ago." He scoffed.

"When you told me that you didn't want to be a pirate anymore. You got one of your crew to acts like a double for you to make it look like Captain Kuro was executed. But, after all this time, here you are alive and well, under everyone's suspicion, posing as a butler." Said Jango as he laughed. "Some butler you are, murdering an entire family just to get what you want."

"Hold on, I haven't murdered an entire family. The father's death wasn't planned."

"Whatever you say it means no difference to me. The crew have been awaiting your orders for over a week. They're itching to scratch their claws." said Jango, eager to get started.

Up on the cliff, Usopp was completely in shock as his body was shaking. He clenched the grass tightly with his hands. "This is horrible! This is really horrible!"

"I officially don't like this guy." murmured Aya to herself as she glared at the butler.

"What they talking about? Is it bad guy stuff?" asked Luffy. Usopp looked at the straw hat with disbelief. Aya sighed.

"What? Were you even listening to that?! Those guys aren't just bad, they're evil! Captain Kuro is the most dangerous and devious pirate around. He's known for his smarts and legendary brutality. The Marines captured him and executed him a few years ago. But, Captain Kuro is alive and well and he he has his diabolical sights set on Kaya's fortune for the last three years! First, they'll attack the village. Then they'll kill Kaya!" explained Usopp. He imagined the villagers being brutally slaughtered by the pirates and Kaya's horrified look on her face as she let out a blood curdling scream as a pirate brought his sword down on her.

"This is bad! This is seriously bad!" said Usopp as he gripped his head tightly trying to get rid of the thought from his mind. "We won't let that happen. We'll figure something out. They don't know that we've heard everything, so we got the element of surprise on our hands." said Aya as and tried to reassure the long nosed man. Luffy looked at the two as they were whispering to each other then back towards the two men below them and stood up.

"Hey, get down! They'll see you!" hissed Usopp as he grabbed Luffy's hand trying to pull him down, before the two spotted the two spotted him.

"HEY BAD GUYS! YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM THAT GIRL!" Screamed Luffy out loudly. The two men looked up seeing the three.

Aya sighed. "Well, there goes our element of surprise." She murmured to herself, turning her head frowning at Luffy. "I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Your way is boring." said Luffy.

"It's called having a plan, dumb ass." Aya whispered, harshly.

"They've spotted you! Get down!" hissed Usopp, panicking. Klahadore smirked.

"Well now if it isn't, Usopp?" He said in a harsh and cold tone of voice. Usopp screamed.

"Ahh! Now, I'm spotted too!"

"Did you hear anything?" said the butler in a deadly tone.

"No! Nothing at all! We just got here! We didn't hear a peep! Nothing at all!" Usopp stammered, nervously, panicking even more.

"We heard it all." said Luffy. Usopp smacked the straw hat captain on his shoulder. "Shut up!"

Kuro sighed. He looked at Jango giving him a signal. "Well, if you say so." said the hypnotist as he brought out his ring. "Pay attention, brats and watch this ring closely." He called out to the three As he began to swing the ring sideways. Luffy leaned in looking closer, interested, becoming entranced.

"Okay." He said. Usopp and Aya tried to pull him back.

"Don't you get it, it's some kind of weapon. We got to run!" exclaimed Usopp.

"On the count of Jango, you'll be in a deep sleep. Are you ready?" said the hypnotist as he began counting.

"One, two,..." Usopp and Aya leaped for cover as he began counting.

"Run for cover!" shouted Usopp.

"Jango!" shouted Jango. Luffy's eyes suddenly began to feel heavy until he fell asleep standing up. Jango fell backwards leaning on the butler.

"Jango, you idiot! I see your still falling asleep on the job!" said Klahadore frustrated as he tried to push the hypnotist off of him. Then Luffy suddenly began teeter as he leaned dangerously over the edge of the cliff.

"Hey, be careful! You're going to fall!" Usopp called out. But, it was too late, as Luffy had fallen over the edge.

"Luffy!" shouted Aya. Luffy crashed on the bottom landing on his head with a hard crack.

"He fell down, with that height, No one could survive that fall." said Jango as he looked at Luffy, who was not moving. Usopp clenched the grass tightly with his hands in horror.

"This can't be happening! They killed him. Hes really dead."

"Don't worry, he's not dead. Luffy's like a cockroach, he's hard to kill." said Aya. Usopp looked up at her with disbelief.

"How can you be so heartless? That's your brother down there! Did you not see what just happened?! Nobody can survive a call from that height!" He shouted.

"What about the others? Shall I take care of them?" Jango asked.

"There's no need." said Klahadore. "Jango, tomorrow, at day break, prepare to attack the village. Above all, make sure that Kaya's death looks accidental." He finished as he smirked menacingly at Usopp.

"T-Tomorrow?" Usopp stammered. Klahadore smiled grinning from ear to ear.

"Face it, 's nothing that you can say or do to warn the villagers of this impending tragedy." Usopp stared at him in shock until Aya placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go. I'll stay with Luffy." She said as she pushed him away.

"B-But,- Are you crazy?! You're just going to get killed as well! Just like him!" shouted Usopp.

"My brother's not dead." said Aya, not moving from her spot. Usopp shook his head grabbed Aya's arm. "We have to run! Come on!"

Aya shrugged his hand off of her and give Usopp a cold stare. He froze. "No! You go. Warn the others, get their help. But, I'm staying." said Aya.

"I can't just leave you here to-"

"GO!" Roared Aya. Usopp screamed. He quickly turned around and ran off. Aya looked down seeing the butler and the hypnotist walking away, glaring at them as they did. Then she glanced over at Luffy who was still not moving.

"The things that you put me through, idiot." She muttered under her breath as she began to climb down the rocky cliff.

* * *

Usopp ran through the woods as fast as he could heading towards the village. "I can't believe it! Everyone is in danger! Everyone that I know and love is going to be slaughtered. And Kaya's going to be killed! I can't let that happen to the people I love!" An image of Kaya appeared in his mind, smiling. He remembered the times that he and Kaya spent together, him telling her stories, and her beautiful laughter and smile. Then a pair of sea foamed eyes appeared in his mind as Aya appeared as well. "And not her as well. I can't let that happen!" Tears began to fall down his face like waterfalls as he continued to run.

"DAMN IT!"


	9. Expose The Plot! Pirate Captain Kuro!

In the field, Zoro, Nami and the three kids were waiting for Usopp to return along with the twins. As they waited, they heard the birds tweeting harmoniously in the sky. All seemed peaceful. However, Zoro couldn't help but feel that something was off. A sense of dread flooded through his entire body as it sends chills down his spine.

"Our captain's been gone for quite a while." said Carrot, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, Luffy and Aya, too." said Nami.

"He probably just need some time." Zoro dismissed.

"Whenever he gets really upset like this, you can count on him being at the shore." said Pepper. Suddenly, they heard the sounds of footsteps and looked up to see someone running towards them, it was Usopp.

"Captain!" The three kids called out to him. He ignored them, as if he didn't see them, and continued running, heading straight towards the village.

"Hold on, where are Luffy and Aya? I thought they were with him?" Questioned Zoro to himself. He frowned. Why weren't they with him? Did something happen to them? Zoro's thoughts began to drift off as Aya appeared in his mind. He was getting a bad feeling that something had happened. Zoro let out a tired sigh. What have they gotten themselves involved in now?

"Hey, where's Luffy is he still at the shore?" asked Nami as she called out to Usopp. But, he didn't answer her.

"Wow, he looks really upset. But, why? Is he still mad at the butler?" said Nami.

"Who knows?" Zoro shrugged.

"That wasn't just a mad face." said Carrot.

"That looked like a face of sheer desperation." Added Pepper. Zoro stood up looking at the three kids.

"Why don't you guys show us the way down to the shore?" asked the swordsman. The three kids ignored him as they huddled around in a circle, whispering to themselves.

"This sounds like an adventure to me!" said Carrot.

"Yeah, something happened at the shore." said Onion, excitedly. Zoro growled in frustration.

"ENOUGH ALREADY! HOW DO WE FIND THIS PLACE?!"

* * *

As Usopp made it to the village, he was panting hard, trying to catch his breath. He still couldn't believe that this was actually happening. As he gathered his breath, Usopp took in a deep breath and began screaming at the top of his lungs.

"PIRATES! PIRATES ARE COMING! EVERYBODY RUN! RUN! COME ON, THEY'RE GOING TO ATTACK THE VILLAGE! WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! RUN! IS ANYONE EVEN LISTENING TO ME? RUUUUNNN!"

Suddenly, he heard the doors from the houses open and he signed in relief. One by one the villagers came out but with weapons in hand. Usopp smile dropped.

"Alright, Usopp. We can't take it anymore." said a villager.

"We're putting a stop to this here and now. For your own good." said another villager.

"No! It's not like that. It's the truth this time, I promise!" said Usopp as he quickly tried to reason with them. They all glared at him with irritation.

"Stop it! We all know that you're nothing but a liar." shouted a villager.

"Klahadore told us. Why should we believe anything that you say?!" said another one.

"Everything you say comes out with lies."

Usopp backed up as they began to inch closer towards him. He looked at them with horror on his face as realization hit him in the chest as it began grow tighter.

_"Oh no. This is exactly what Klahadore was counting on. He knew that everyone won't believe me." _thought Usopp to himself.

* * *

At the mansion, Kaya squealed happily as her friend Merry handed her a gift that he got from his travels. He was a tall man with a lamb like appearance. His hair was white and curly with two lamb horns sticking out the top of his head. He handed the young a purple case with a pair of glasses inside of it.

"Are these to your liking, Miss? I had it made to your exact specifications." said Merry. "It was quite a trip to get them."

"Thank you. It must have been quite a trip to get those for me." said Kaya as the man handed the case over to her. She took it and smiled.

"I can't wait to see the look on Klahadore's face when he sees these. It's been almost three years since he arrived here. He's always have taken such good care of me." She said.

"He'll be delighted to receive such a gift." said Merry as the two talked to each other, smiling.

* * *

Back at the village, Usopp tried to reason with the villagers.

"Please hear me out, everyone! Our lives depend on it! Listen to me! Pirates are going to attack the village in the morning!" He pleaded. "Please believe me. We don't have time! I'm not lying this time, I swear! Don't you get it! They'll murder you all!"

They stared at him angrily.

"You're lucky that we don't murder you!" shouted a villager. Suddenly, they began to advance closer to Usopp. He gritted his teeth and took off running.

"I'M NOT LYING!" shouted Usopp. The angry mob of villagers chased after him

"Get him! Don't let him escape!"

Usopp ran towards the only place, to the only person, who he hoped would believe him, Kaya.

* * *

At the shore high on the cliffs, Zoro, Nami, and the three kids were looking around trying to find the twins. But, they were nowhere in sight.

"This is the place!" said Pepper.

"Our captain always comes here alone to think." said Carrot.

"I don't think that straw hat guy is here." said Pepper, worried.

"I don't see that creepy lady either." said Onion. Zoro frowned as they looked around. Nami walked over to the edge of the cliffs looking at the bottom.

"The rocks sure are loose here." She murmured.

"Nami, be careful." Said Zoro. As Nami looked closer, she spotted something and gasped in horror.

"Look! Down there!" She shouted. Everyone quickly ran over to where she was and saw the two twins.

"Luffy! Aya!" shouted Nami.

"Hey, it's them!" Exclaimed the three boys. Zoro let out a sigh in relief when he saw Aya, but frowned when he saw that Luffy was not moving. Aya looked up and saw them.

"It's about time you guys showed up. What took so long?!" She said. Everyone quickly rushed over to the two twins and gasped as they saw the state that Luffy was in. He was not moving, one might assume that he was dead.

"Luffy! What did you do?! How did this happen?!" shouted Nami in disbelief.

"He fell." said Aya, bluntly.

"And how in the world did that happen?!" exclaimed Nami. She narrowed her eyes at Aya in suspicion.

"Don't look at me! I didn't do this! Some freak with a ring did something to him." said Aya. Suddenly, everyone went quiet as they heard loud snoring. They looked down to see that Luffy was sleeping.

"Wait, a minute." said Zoro as he smiled in relief. "You lazy bum."

"I've tried everything to try and wake him up, all except for one thing that usually works." said Aya to herself.

"What's that?" Questioned Zoro.

Aya smirked. "You'll see." She said with a twisted smile on her face.

Then she put the top of her finger in her mouth and wet it then bent down and plunged it into Luffy's ear, giving the straw hat captain a wet willy. The group cringed. Luffy let out a loud squeal as he quickly sat up wiping his ear. He turned glaring at Aya with a look of disgust on his face.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" exclaimed Luffy angrily. "GROSS! YOU KNOW I HATE THAT, AYA, YOU JERK!"

"Well, look who's finally up." said Aya smirking. "Did you have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?"

* * *

Outside of the mansion, Usopp was panting hard as he tried to catch his breath. He had managed to escape from the angry mob that was chasing him. He only had one thing on his mind and that was to warn Kaya. Usopp removed the block from the hedge and climbed through.

Kaya was sitting in her bed reading a medical book when a rock hit her window. She looked up, slightly startled and walked over to the window, opening it. She relaxed when she saw that it was Usopp. She smiled.

"Usopp!" She said. "I was worried that you wouldn't come back." Her smile dropped when she saw that the long nosed man had a grim look on his face.

"Run, Kaya! They're going to kill you!" He warned.

"Huh? Someone's going to kill me?" asked Kaya, confused.

"He's tricked the entire village. Klahadore's really a deadly pirate captain!" said Usopp.

"Is this a story? I don't like this one." Kaya frowned.

"This isn't one of my stories. It's the truth! I've heard it with my own ears! Klahadore's really a pirate captain who weaseled his way into your family's home so that he can steal your fortune. He's pretending to be your butler for three years so that he can kill you and inherit your money!"

"What are you talking about, Usopp?"

"His crew is going to take the village at dawn and in the process, you're going to get killed! Klahadore's a very bad man. You have to run. You have to escape!" He said. Kaya looked at him with disbelief.

"I know Klahadore said some harsh things to you, but, this is unlike you. Why would you say such things?"

Usopp felt his heart began to break when he heard her words. She didn't believe him.

"Kaya, please, I'm telling you the truth. I'm telling you the truth...please believe me!"

* * *

Back at the shore, Luffy and Aya told everyone what they have heard.

"What?! Pirates are going to attack the village?! They're going to kill Kaya?!" exclaimed the three boys.

"Yep. That's what they said. No question about it." said Luffy, bluntly.

"So, what made you think that it would be a good time for a nap?" asked Zoro.

"That's the thing. I don't remember going to sleep or getting down here at all!" said Luffy.

"Klahadore's a bad guy!" said Carrot.

"Usopp saw right through it!" said Pepper.

"I bet he's on his way to warn the village." said Onion.

"Well, that's perfect! Those stupid pirates wont hurt anyone if the town's abandoned when they get there!" said Nami. The three boys didn't hear her and took off running leaving the group behind.

"Let's head for the hills!" They screamed.

* * *

Usopp stared at Kaya with disbelief and a hurt look on his face. Kaya looked at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"Those stories you told me. They brought joy to my heart. But, they were all just a bunch of lies." She said. Her head began to feel fuzzy as she began to feel lightheaded. Her legs began to shake as she couldn't feel them. Luckily, Kaya had managed to grab onto the curtain, as she tried to retain her balance.

"Kaya, please believe me. I'm not just trying to get back at Klahadore-" said Usopp as he tried to reassure her.

"Why would you do that?" asked Kaya.

"Kaya, please, I-" The door opened and Merry walked in with a concerned look.

"Miss Kaya is everything okay up here?" He froze when he saw Usopp next to Kaya. He quickly pulled out his pistol. Usopp grabbed Kaya as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Let's get out of here, right now!" He said.

Kaya tried to break free as she struggled against Usopp's hold on her but was too weak. "Usopp, stop it!" She shouted.

"Unhand her immediately, you villain!" shouted Merry. Usopp pulled Kaya out the window and jumped to the branch then landed safely in the ground as he carried Kaya. He placed her down but Kaya she backed away from him, scared.

"Please trust me, Kaya. You gotta get out of this village before that butler gets back!" He said. Suddenly, two of Kaya's bodyguards, who were guarding the gate, heard the commotion and they all rushed at Usopp. Usopp fired his slingshot at them, knocking them out. Kaya watched in horror.

"Stop it!" She shouted. As the last guard fell to the ground, Usopp ran over to Kaya and grabbed her hand.

"Come on!" He said. But, Kaya didn't move an inch. "I promise, this will all make sense tomorrow. But, right now, we need to go!" Slap! Usopp stared at Kaya with a hurt look on his face. She had slapped him. What hurt him more than the stinging pain that he felt on his cheek was that he saw that her eyes were filled with disappointment. She looked away from him, and looked at the ground with a sad look on her face.

"You're pathetic." She muttered, coldly.

Ussop's heart broke into pieces as he heard her words. Then Merry appeared as he rounded the corner of the mansion aimed his pistol at Usopp.

"Leave Miss Kaya alone, you maniac!" He shouted. Ussop quickly turned and ran, but Merry already had him in his sight. Kaya looked in horror as she felt her heart dropped and quickly jumped in front of his range of fire.

"NO!" She screamed. Merry gasped as he quickly rearranged his aim but his finger had already pressed down on the trigger. The gun fired and Usopp fell as he felt a sharp pain on his left arm. He quickly got up and gave one last look to Kaya then ran off. The villagers were walking around the estate and Merry quickly ran over to them.

"Don't let that lunatic get away! He broke inside and tried to kidnap the lady of the house!" He shouted, pointing to where Usopp had ran off. The angry mob chased after him.

"_Why...why won't anyone believe me?!" _thought Usopp as he ran. His eyes eyes began to burn as tears began to call from his face. Kaya watched from afar seeing the villagers chased Usopp until they were out of her sights as they ran over the hill.

"Usopp." She said, sadly. She felt her whole body to numb as she loss the strength to stand, completely overwhelmed with shock. Merry quickly catches her as she faints.

"There, there, Ma'am everything's going to be fine!" He said.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, Usopp was walking on a dirt path, holding his bleeding arm. He had managed to lose the angry horde of villagers that was chasing him. As he was walking, he was remembering the day that he had first met Kaya.

He felt his heart began to break more as he cried. He turned and glanced at the village behind him. Tomorrow, there was going to be nothing left. The village was going to be destroyed. The villagers were going to be slaughtered by Kuro's pirates. And Kaya, she was going to be- Usopp but his lower lip as more tears came down.

"CAPTAIN!" Usopp heard several voices call of to him. He looked up and saw the the three boys, waving, Zoro, Nami, and Aya ahead of him. Usopp quickly wiped away his tears and his his wounded arm behind his back. He smiled as he walked over to them.

"Hey, how's it going you guys?" He asked as he got closer. Then he spotted Luffy who was standing behind the group, who beamed as the long nosed man approached.

"Hey!" Luffy called out. Usopp's mouth dropped in shock as he gawked at the straw hat captain who was standing in front of him, alive and complex unharmed and without a scratch on him.

"Wait, you're alive?!" exclaimed Usopp, shocked. Aya smiled. Then she noticed that Usopp was hiding his arm She frowned in concern. "_Did he get injured?"_ She thought to herself. "_Wait a minute, why am I worried about him? We only just met!_" She quickly dropped her frown and smirked.

"I told you. It'll take more than a fall to kill Luffy." said Aya.

"And I had a pretty good nap!" said Luffy, smiling.

"He was sleeping the whole time!" explained Carrot.

"We better hurry and warn the people in the village, so they'll have time to get away!" shouted Pepper.

"Warn...everyone." mumbled Usopp to hims, quietly. His body shook as he remembered what the villagers said to him. Everyone looked at him with a worried look on their faces until Usopp suddenly starts laughing out loud.

"I was lying as usual. That butler and me so mad so I thought that I'll get him back by saying that he was a pirate!" He laughed. The three boys started laughing along with him. Aya looked at Usopp with a surprised look on her face. She frowned as she stared at the long nosed man, a little angry.

"W-What are you talking about? I was there with you! We all heard-" Just as she was about to step forward, Aya felt a hand on her should and looked to see that it was Luffy. He shook his head. Aya stayed silent. Then the three boys walked away.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" asked Usopp. He flinched when he saw the three boys looked at him. Their eyes carried so much disappointment and anger in them.

"Honestly, you really disappointed me." said Carrot.

"Even though that butler guy was a jerk, I thought that you were better than that!" exclaimed Onion, angrily. Usopp looked sadly to the ground, silently.

The three boys walked off leaving the man that once looked up to and the group by themselves.

* * *

Nighttime had fallen as a crescent moon shined high in the search and cloudy sky. The group were at the shore while Usopp was sitting down as Aya tended to his arm. He gritted his teeth as Aya was finishing as she tightened the piece of cloth around his arm, stopping the bleeding.

"There all done." She said. "That wasn't so bad, was it you big baby?"

Usopp gritted his teeth as he felt his arm throb then looked at Aya.

"Thank you." He said. Aya smiled which made Usopp's heart flutter.

"Don't mention it. Just don't make it a habit." She said as she winked.

The two heard a voice cough as they cleared their voice behind them and looked to see Luffy, Zoro, and Nami looking at them. Luffy was staring at them with a blank look on his face, confused, as his eyes dart back and forth at the two. Zoro had a sinister and dark look on his face which send chills down Usopp's back, as if he was going to murder him. Nami was smirking mischievously as she looked back and forth at Aya and Usopp, silently.

"So, how come you lied to them?" asked Luffy.

"Because all I do is lie. There's no way that anybody is going to believe in what I have to say. Why should they?" muttered Usopp sadly.

"Because what you were telling them, was the truth." said Zoro.

"Those pirates are going to attack, right?" asked Nami. "Can't you warn them?"

"They'll think that I'm lying if I tell them. Everyone in the village thinks that tomorrow is going to be just a normal day." said Usopp as his shoulders began to shake then he looked up. "They think I'm lying and that's all that I need them to think! I'm going to stop those pirates at the beach tomorrow, myself! This is all my fault for being such a liar. I don't care anymore if they drive me away with brooms or shoot me in the arm. This is my village, this is my home, and I love everyone on it. I have to protect them!" He shouted as he cried. Zoro smirked.

"You're hell of a good guy, sending your cronies away to fight the battle alone." He said.

"Just so you know, I call dibs on all the pirate treasures, you got it?" said Nami with determined look on her face.

"So you want a little help, or what?" asked Aya as Luffy cracked his knuckles, smirking. Usopp stared at them with disbelief.

"Y-You guys, you're going to help me fight all these pirates? I don't get it, why?" He asked.

"Well, they're a bunch of bad guys, right?" said Luffy.

"You look scared to take 'em on." Added Aya, seeing Usopp's legs beginning to shake like a leaf. Usopp got up.

"For your information, I have nerves of steel. I am perfectly okay to take out tons of those guys. After all, you're looking at the legendary Captain Usopp brave warrior of the seas!" He declared. He felt his legs began to shake more. He hit them, trying to stop the shaking and let out a growl in frustration.

"Damn it. Alright fine I'm scared! Who wouldn't be? They're Captain Kuro's pirates! Just leave. I don't need you laughing at me!" He shouted.

"We're not laughing at you, we're helping you because you are honorable." said Zoro.

"You really think that we risk our lives out of pity?" asked Luffy, smirking. Aya smirked as she raised her fist into the air.

"LET'S KICK SOME ASS!" She screamed in anticipation. Usopp stared at her then the rest of them with a shocked look on his face. He began to tear up again.

"Thanks,...you guys!"


	10. War At The Shore!

In the middle of the night, Usopp, Luffy, Aya, Nami and Zoro were at the rocky slope as the long nosed man told them of his plan.

"Okay, at daybreak, the pirates will be landing at this shore to begin their attack. But, the only way to get to the village is to go up this slope. The rest of the shoreline is sheer cliffs, so they'll have to come through here. If we can fight them while they're funneling through that narrow path, then their numbers won't mean anything and the village will be protected." explained Usopp.

"Alright, sounds pretty easy." said Luffy.

"Talking about it is, but it really depends on our strength. What is it you guys can do?" asked Usopp.

"I cut." said Zoro.

"I stretch." said Luffy

"I steal." said Nami.

"I plan." said Aya.

"I hide." said Usopp.

"YOU'RE JOINING IN ON THIS FIGHT!" yelled all four of them.

"I was just joking. Calm down!" said Usopp.

* * *

In Kaya's mansion, the sound of the grandfather clock echoed in the hallways. In a room, Merry was dusting and cleaning until he heard the doors open and saw Klahadore walk in. "Ah, Klahadore welcome back." He greeted the butler as he was standing on the ladder, polishing the chandelier. He had told the butler everything that Usopp had said and what he had done to Kaya and the villagers.

"How is she?" asked Klahadore, worried.

"She's resting right now. She was quite exhausted." said Merry as Klahadore walked to the window, untying his tie. Klahadore sighed.

"Now, I have to pick up the pieces. That Usopp certainly know how to cause trouble, doesn't he?" He said.

"Yes, and on top of everything else he's done today. He claims that you were a pirate." Merry chuckled. "I can't think of more an outrageous lie!" Klahadore snickered as he stared at his reflection in the window.

"Indeed..." He sneered then he noticed that there was a box sitting on the table that was wrapped. "What's this here?" asked Klahadore as he picked it up.

"Why that's a present, of course, from Miss Kaya to you, Klahadore. It's been three years since you've came to this mansion. And this gift is to say thank you for your hard work. It's a commemoration of some sort!" said Merry.

"How nice..." Klahadore murmured.

"The glasses that you're wearing are always slipping and you have to push them back up. So the lady of the house custom ordered a new pair for you. It's she just the most thoughtful young woman that you've ever met!" said Merry. Klahadore opened the present seeing the new glasses that were made for him. He smirked and chuckled darkly, pushing up his glasses.

"How appropriate, tomorrow will be a day worth, commemorating." He said as he looked up at the moon.

"Huh?" asked Merry, confused.

"It's a crescent moon tonight. It's on nights like these that I feel alive. My heart races and my blood boils in my veins." said Klahadore. Smash! Merry gasped in horror as he saw Klahadore threw the box on the floor and stepped on the glasses, breaking it.

"Klahadore, what are you doing?! Why would you do such a thing to Miss Kaya's present?!" exclaimed Merry.

"Oh, I'll be receiving a gift alright, but it won't be glasses." said Klahadore. The butler turned to Merry with a scary look on his face. "It'll be her entire estate!"

"What are you saying?!" gasped Merry in shock.

"I suppose there's no reason to carry on the act any longer. In a few hours the village will be more than an unforeseen travesty. You won't live long to see it." said Klahadore as he began to advance slowly towards Merry. The butler pulled out a fur glove with five long blades.

"MY LADY! YOU HAVE TO-!" Merry tried to scream but Klahadore slashed him on his chest with his five blade claws. Merry fell to the floor as blood began to seep from his wound and onto the floor. Klahadore stared down at him with a look of glee etched upon his face.

* * *

On the rocky slope, Usopp, Luffy, Aya, Nami and Zoro had covered it completely with oil. As the last jug was emptied, Usopp smirked, proudly of his work.

"Yep, I'm a genius. There's no way that they'll be able to make it up this slope now. All this oil should keep them occupied, while we get to work on 'em. They're going to be so busy slipping and sliding in their feets, while we show up and beat the crap out of them!" He said.

"Wow, so that's your plan, huh?" asked Aya.

"That's right, I'm going to defend the village no matter what it takes!" said Usopp.

"I just hope that none of us slip on that oil or we'll end up down there with them." said Nami. "Because that will be like riding into a meat grinder." Usopp cringed

"Usopp, I got to hand it to you. You're pretty good at fighting dirty." said Luffy, smiling.

"Of course I am! There isn't anyone alive who can best me with a slingshot

"It's almost daybreak. They're coming." Muttered Zoro.

The group waited until the sun began to rise. However, no one had spotted anyone or any ships arriving.

"Where are they? I've been looking to fight!" Whined Luffy. "The sun's up, what's the deal?"

"Maybe, they overslept?" asked Zoro.

"No. They're going to show up alright, lots of them." said Usopp as he nodded. Suddenly, Nami heard something and she covered her ears, listening.

"Wait a minute, maybe I'm hearing things, but sounds like battle cries from somewhere." She said. "Yeah, I definitely hear them." Everyone stayed quiet and soon enough they also heard loud cries and shouts further off.

"Uh, Usopp, there isn't another way to get to a village, is there?" asked Aya, nervously. Usopp's eyes widen in shock in realization as he began to panic.

"No, it can't be..." He murmured.

"What is it?" asked Zoro.

"There's a shore just like this to the north!" explained Usopp.

"We're at the wrong shore?! That's not good!" shouted Luffy.

"This is where they had their secret meeting, so I just assumed, okay!" shouted Usopp as he began to panic more.

"Then we need to go, now!" shouted Aya.

"Yeah, before they make it to the village. Where is it?!" asked Luffy.

"You have to run directly north from here. If you hurry, you can make it in three minutes! The terrain there is almost exactly the same. So all we need to do is stop them at the slopes!" explained Usopp.

"Don't you worry, we're going to stop them!" said Aya. Suddenly, Nami screamed. Everyone jumped, completely startled, and looked at her.

"OH NO!" She screamed. "IF THOSE FILTHY PIRATES ARE AT THE NORTH SHORE, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO SEE OUR BOAT! THEN THEY'LL TAKE THE TREASURE!" Aya frowned and shrugged.

"So, who cares? You can get more." She said.

"I CARE!" screamed Nami, angrily.

"Alright, I'll be there in 20 seconds!" said Luffy as he runs off. Aya chased after him.

"Oh man, my brilliant plan was all for nothing!" shouted Usopp, disappointed and he chased after the twins leaving Nami and Zoro.

"My precious treasure..." whined Nami in horror.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let's get out of here." said Zoro breaking Nami out of her thoughts.

"Yeah-!" As soon she took a step, Nami slipped on the oil. She fell down and grabbed onto Zoro's foot taking him with her. "Help, I'm going to fall!" Zoro was now slipping on the oil as well.

"Let go, you moron!" He growled. Zoro tried to climb up but only to slope further down. Then Nami smirked as an idea began to form. She grabbed onto Zoro's sword sheaths and climbed on top of him then leaped off, landing safely in the ground, leaving Zoro on the oil covered slope as he slid further down.

"See you there!" She winked sticking her tongue out at the swordsman.

"Nami, you witch!" growled Zoro, angrily.

"Sorry, but you'll understand. The treasure's in danger!" Shouted Nami as she ran off.

"That girl's going to pay!" growled Zoro as he grinded his teeth together, seething in rage.

* * *

Usopp ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He felt his lungs begin to ache as tried to breathe. But, he couldn't stop now, not when the villagers and Kaya and everyone that he knew and loved was in danger. "I swear on my life that they'll never set foot in this village." Usopp looked up ahead of him but he could see Luffy or Aya anywhere as he had lost track of them. "Man, those two sure are good runners. I can't even see them anymore!"

"Run straight north! Run straight north!" shouted Luffy to himself as he ran. He looked behind him but saw that Aya was not with him. "Great, I'm completely lost. And now I lost Aya as well! Damn it! Which way is north!?" shouted the straw hat captain as he continues to run.

"Those pirates are in big trouble if they take even one look at my treasure!" shouted Nami as she ran as well.

* * *

The Black Cat Pirates had made it to the shore as they all let out loud roar and battle cry as they all charges up the slope. Suddenly, several pellets shot out came out of nowhere and hit the pirates. One by one, they were knocked back as they fell to the ground groaning in pain.

"It's an ambush! Somebody's up there!" One of them yelled. Jango growled, annoyed, as to who would dare to face against the Black Cat Pirates. He and rest of the crew looked up at the top of the slope, seeing a long nosed man, it was Usopp.

"We meet again." said Jango, irritated. Usopp breathed heavily as he panted trying to catch his breath while still aiming his slingshot at the pirates. He gulped the screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I am the mighty Captain Usopp!" He shouted. "I've been waiting for you! All my men and I are ready to fight to the death. Then back now, if you value your lives!" His entire body was shaking like a leaf as he stared down nervously at the angry horde of pirates below him as they glared at him.

"Damn. I wasn't supposed to be the first one here! They were running way ahead of me. I can't face these guys alone!"

* * *

Zoro was still struggling as he tried to climb out of the oil but slide back down.

"Damn! Blast this stuff!" He growled, irritated, as he tried to run but he got nowhere as he was running in the same spot.

* * *

"The village? That can't be right. He said that if I run North then I should be at the shore." murmured Luffy, confused, as he stared at the village in front of him.

* * *

Jango frowned as he looked at Usopp. Usopp gulped nervously as his body was shaking, terrified, looking at the bloodthirsty pirates below him.

"It's you, I remember. You're one of those troublesome brats who overheard our plan. What do you think you're doing?" asked Jango in a mocking tone.

"I'm warning you! Leave here while you still can! If you don't, then my one hundred billion crew men will massacre all of you!" shouted Usopp . The pirates gave him an skeptical look in disbelief.

"One hundred million?" Questioned one.

"Are we really supposed to believe that." growled another, angrily.

"No way ! One hundred million?! Incredible!" exclaimed Jango.

"Captain, he's obviously lying." said a pirate.

"They saw through it!" Usopp cursed under his breath.

"What's that? You've been lying to us this whole time?!" shouted Jango, angrily.

"Captain Jango, take a look at this!" shouted one of the pirates as they called out.

"Is it bad?" asked Jango. The pirates pointed towards the two small ships.

"No sir, it's good. We searched the those ships and found a huge ton of treasure! It's hard to say how much, but I bet it's around five million berries!" He said as a crew mate was holding a sack filled with treasure. Everyone gasped in shock.

"F-Five million berries?! How in the world did those guys get a hold of such much treasure?" asked Usopp, surprised. Then an idea was forming in his head. He smirked. "I see you've found my loot! Well, you can have it!"

"You're just going to let us take it?"

"That's right! Just turn around and forget all about this place and the treasure is yours!" He yelled as all the pirates turned to him.

"I didn't think people this stupid actually existed." said one.

"He's just embarrassing himself." said another. Jango tilted his hat, getting more annoyed.

"Okay, so you know what a pirate is? We're going to take this treasure and there's nothing that you can do about it. And there is no way that we're turning back until we get what we've came for." He said.

"W-Well, yeah, that makes sense." stammered Us opp nervously. Then Jango pulled out his ring and began to swing it side to side.

"Alright then, on the count of one, two, Jango, you're going to let us by." He said. Usopp gasped as he saw it. "It's that strange weapon from before!" Suddenly, Usopp couldn't help but watch as he stared at the ring as it swung left and right. He felt his feet completely glued to the spot.

"One, two,-" Jango counted.

"Get down!" a voice shouted. Usopp felt a sharp smack on the back of his head as someone pushed him down.

"My head!" He whined as he held his head in pain.

"Oi! Who are these two?!" shouted one of the pirates. Usopp groaned as he looked up to see Nami and Aya.

"This isn't the time to be hypnotizing yourself. We've got a mission to carry out remember!?" shouted Aya.

Nami glared at the pirates. "That treasure is mine! And I'm not going to let you have a single beri, you hear me?! If fact you better clear out now or things are going to get bad!" She screamed, angrily, threatening them.

"Damn it, Nami. That's really hurt!" yelled Usopp. Nami looked at Usopp.

"Who said that you can give them my treasure?! You got what you deserved!" She shouted at him.

"I didn't give them the treasure, I just said that I would give it to them!" shouted Usopp. Nami rested her staff on her shoulder.

"That's the same thing and I just saved your life." She said, calmly. "I forgot to mention it earlier, but don't ever watch his ring that he's using. That weirdo is a hypnotist."

"Damn." Jango cursed under his breath.

"H-Hypnotist?" asked Usopp.

"So where's Luffy? He took off so fast, I figured that he'd be ahead of you!" asked Nami.

"I don't know. He either got lost or chickened out at the last minute." said Usopp as he got up.

"The only thing that can keep him from a fight is getting lost." Nami sighed. Usopp made his way up the slope to the two girls.

"I'm going to let you take command here. It's about time that you kick their butts." He said as He placed his hand on Nami's shoulder. She looked at him a look in disbelief.

"Yeah, lead the way, Nami." Aya smirked, crossing her arms. Nami frowned then looked back at Usopp.

"What?! What about you?" She shouted. "I can't take on a bunch of vicious pirates by myself, that's just suicide!"

"I'm a coward." He said as he pointed to his legs that were shaking.

"You think you're scared? What about me?!" exclaimed Nami.

"Don't yell at him!" Aya scolded. Usopp looked over Nami's shoulder at Aya. He felt his heart flutter, happy that she was helping him.

"He's already terrified as it is. You're not helping." Aya finished.

"Excuse me?!" said Usopp, feeling a little insulted. Nami ignored him and she turned to Aya.

"And what about you?! I don't see you jumping in. I saw the way you fight, you can take out these pirates no problem. How about you fight them?!" Aya laughed as she threw her hands in the air in defense.

"Hey, I'm strong, but not that strong. I can't fight all those pirates by myself." said Aya, shrugging her hands.

"You liar! You can so! Now get down there and kick their butts!" shouted Nami, grabbing Aya by the shoulders as she struggled to push her down the slope.

"How about _you_ fight them?" asked Aya. She didn't move an inch while Nami tried to get her to budge. Nami sighed in frustration until an idea popped in her mind. She smirked.

_"If I can't get through to her. Then I'll just mess with her ego! Hit her where it hurts!_" thought Nami to herself.

"Oh I see, you're too scared to fight them." said Nami as she shrugged her hands. Aya frowned as she narrowed her eyes at her.

"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you right." said Aya.

"I don't blame you one bit. I would be scared going against blood thirsty pirates as well. " said Nami.

"Then how about you fight them then, you chicken." said Aya. "Prove to me that you have what it takes to be a pirate! To be a member of my brother's crew!" Nami twitched as she growled, angrily. "I already told you. I'll never be a pirate!"

Aya clucked as she flapped her arms like wings, mockingly.

"I beg to differ, chicken!" She said in a taunting tone of voice. Nami and Aya glared at each other as they got into each other's face.

"Uh, guys? The pirates?" stammered Usopp. He tried to get the two girls to stop arguing, who were literally butting heads with each other. The two of them quickly turned their heads looking at him with a scary look on their faces.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" shouted the two of them. Usopp cringed. The Black Cat Pirates watched the whole feud with interest, some of them whistled while others cat called.

"Cat fight!" Cheered one of them while some of them whistled and cat called until Jango interrupted.

"We don't have time for this nonsense." He said, annoyed. "Alright, let's get to work!" He commanded . The pirates roared and began to charge up the slope towards the three.

"Here, they come!" shouted Nami as she tensed up seeing the pirates getting closer. Then Usopp had an idea.

"Wait, I know!" He shouted. Then Usopp reached into his knapsack and pulled out some metal spikes and handed them to Aya and Nami.

* * *

Back at the other slope, Zoro was still trying to get out of the oil and was completely covered in it. He panted as he tried to catch his breath. "Nami, if you're still alive when I get out of here, I'm going to kill you!" He shouted in frustration. Then an idea came to his mind. Zoro used two of his swords and stabbed them into the ground as he began to climb. Finally, as he reached the top of the slope, he made it out of the slippery mess. Without wasting any time, Zoro immediately took off running.

"Now, where do I get to the north shore from here?" He grumbled to himself as he ran.

* * *

"Run straight north! Run straight north!" screamed Luffy as he ran blindly into the deep forest, He looked around wildly at his surroundings. He was completely lost.

"Which way is north?!" He shouted.

* * *

Back at the north shore, Usopp, Nami and Aya watched as the Black Cat Pirates howled in pain as they stepped on the metal spikes that were thrown all over the slope.

"Yes! We've got 'em!" Nami cheered.

"Check this out." said Usopp. He pulled out his slingshot and aimed it at the pirates and fired. With accurate precision, one of the pellets hit one of the pirates in the head.

"You bastard!" shouted one. Nami patted Usopp on the back.

"Way to go! You're quite the warrior after all!" She said. "It looks like you've got this handled, so I'll just take a break."

"Where do you think you're going?!" shouted Aya .

"But, you haven't done anything, yet?!" shouted Usopp. Nami screamed.

"What is it?" asked Usopp as he and Aya turned to see why the orange haired girl screamed.

"There are caltraps behind us." said Nami, sheepishly. Usopp jaw dropped. Aya had a look in disbelief. The two of them saw that the traps were laid behind them as well.

"IDIOT! You dropped those things behind us?!" shouted Usopp. Then Nami saw a pirates came up behind Usopp and Aya with a sledge hammer.

"Get out of the way!" She screamed as she tried to warn them. Aya's eyes widen and she quickly moved out of the way only to see the hammer swing down and hit Usopp as it made contact with his head. Usopp felt his ears ring and his vision became blurry as blood flowed from his head and mouth as he crashed to the ground with a thud.

"Usopp!" cried Aya.

The pirate smirked darkly and Nami and Aya gasped in horror.

"Don't tell me that you really thought that you're going to stop us down there?" said the pirate. "Let's go, fellas. Captain Kuro's waiting!" Then the pirate felt something grab onto his foot. He looked down and saw that it was Usopp.

"You again? Let go of me, you jackass!" said the pirate. "You want some more?!" He tried to shake Usopp off of him but he still latched on refusing to let go.

"I won't ever...let you step foot in that village!" Usopp panted as he tried to stand up. Blood ran down his face as he glared at the pirate. "All I did was lie, like I always do. Today, won't be like any other day in that sleepy little town, cause you and your crew will never set foot in it!"

"Shut up! I won't tell you again!" shouted another pirate as they charged at Usopp with a sword. As he was about to bring it down on Usopp a foot connected with the pirate's face, kicking him back. Usopp looked up and saw that it was Aya as she landed on the ground on her feet. He saw that she had a scary look on her face which sends shivers down his spine.

"COME AT ME, YOU COWARDS! I'LL KICK ALL YOUR ASSES RIGHT INTO DAVY JONES' LOCKER!" She roared out. A pirate charged at Aya from behind but she throw her fist back and punched him in the face.

Another pirate came at Nami with a sword and she tried to block it with her staff but she was pushed back. Nami fell to the ground. She grunted in pain as she felt the hard ground connected with her back.

"Nami!" Shouted Aya as she tried to dodge a swing from the pirate that was wielding the hammer.

"I would be more worried about myself, right now!" shouted a pirate as he and another pirate who came out of no where, catching Aya off guard. They charged at her from behind.

Aya's eyes widen as she felt herself being pushed back and she collided with side of the slope. She groaned in pain then looked up and glared up at the pirates who was smirking darkly at her. Then she began coughing violently, covering her mouth with her hand as she did. As she pulled her hand away, Aya saw a small amount of blood.

"Damn it..." She cursed under her breath, still coughing.

"Aya!" Usopp called out to her, worried.

Suddenly, the pirate with the hammer slammed his weapon down on Usopp again knocking him to the ground. His face connected with the ground as he did. The pirates laughed until Jango silenced them as he spoke.

"We've wasted enough time, playing pirates! Quit bothering with them and move to the village!" He shouted. "Or have you've forgotten that this is Captain Kuro's operation? He doesn't look favorably on anyone's who's late, especially a bunch of idiots! Do you understand?!"

The crew shuddered at the thought. They quickly charged up the slope heading towards the village.

"Don't go any further..." said Usopp as he tried to stop a pirate as he grabbed onto them. "I said stop! Don't take another step!"

"Get off me!" shouted the pirate. He kicked Usopp off of him, knocking the man back onto the ground.

_"Don't kill them! Just leave this village alone! They're good people, they don't deserve this! I love them!" _thought Usopp to himself. Tears began to fall from his eyes running down his cheeks.

Suddenly, the pirates were knocked back as they flew, falling down the slope. Usopp gawked at the sight of it. Jango and Nami had a look of surprise as well wondering who could have done such a thing. Aya looked then smirked at who she saw, Luffy and Zoro.

"What took you guys so long?" She asked.

"W-What is this, Captain Jango?!" shouted a pirate.

"Nobody told us that killers like those are going to be here!" shouted another. Jango had a look of fury and irritation on his face.

"It's about time!" mumbled Nami.

"Is that the best that those pirates can dish out?" asked Zoro as he looked down at the Black Cat Pirates who were laid out at the bottom of the slope with a disappointed look on his face.

"Yeah, I was hoping for a challenge." said Luffy disappointed as well, as he stretched his arm.

"And you! After leaving me down there, you're lucky that I go after you too!" growled Zoro as he glared at Nami. Then Zoro drifted his gaze over to Aya. He frowned as he saw her coughing violently. "_Damn, she's having an attack." _thought Zoro to himself.

"You just going to sit there or what?" said Zoro in a mocking tone of voice. "I thought that you were better than this." Aya blushed feeling embarrassed. Luffy tilted his head seeing Aya.

"What are you doing sitting on the ground? Why are you getting your ass kicked around by these guys?" He asked. He noticed her coughing and his eyes widen in worry. "ARE YOU SICK?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" He shouted.

"Shut up! I'm fine." She shouted as she coughed. "It's just dust. You know what it does to me."

"Oh, okay! Well, hurry up and get over here already!" shouted Luffy as he smiled. Zoro raised an eye brow at Luffy giving him a look in disbelief. _"So he really doesn't know..." _He thought to himself.

Then Aya reached into her pocket and pulls out her medicine, taking it. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"Usopp, you big bonehead! You never told me which direction is north!" shouted Luffy, angrily, as he glared at Usopp. Jango stared at the two with a skeptical look.

"Who are these guys?" He asked.

* * *

Outside of Kaya's mansion Klahadore was sitting on the stairs waiting. He growled in frustration wondering what was taking so long then stood up and grabbed his bag and walked off heading towards the North shore.

However, Onion was watching nearby as he his behind a tree seeing the butler.

"It looks like the butler from Kaya's mansion. But, it's so early in the morning, why is he walking to the shore?" He asked himself. He frowned in suspicion as he saw the butler walking off.


	11. The Terrifying Duo!

Jango and the rest of the black cat pirates stood still completely stunned looking at the straw hat captain and swordsman. The two had knocked out almost an entire crew with one fell swoop without even batting an eye.

"Well, it's about time." Aya smirked.

Usopp's body began to shake with excitement. He had never seen anyone that strong before. "Wow, that was great. You guys are really that strong?" He asked. Luffy nodded.

"Could you have been slower? What took you so long?!" Nami shouted, irritated, making Zoro growl. He narrowed his eyes at the orange haired girl.

"You're the one who pushed me down that oil slick so you could get out!" He shouted, angrily.

"It was an accident, I slipped you fell. At least one of us made it out of there. That's better than both of us being stuck at the bottom." Nami said, calmly.

"That should have just been you!" Zoro snapped.

"Run straight north he said. I mean that's just great. How am I supposed to know where north even is out here, huh?!" Luffy shouted at Usopp.

"Shut up! You're the one who ran off so sure of himself." Usopp shouted. Luffy looked at Aya. She stood up and brushed her self off.

"AND YOU! WHY DID YOU RUN OFF AHEAD WITHOUT ME?!" Luffy shouted.

"You got lost in your own, idiot. That's your own damn fault. Don't blame me!" Aya shouted back at Luffy. Usopp looked at the two twins in bewilderment as they argued and squabble back and forth, throwing in a few insults at each other.

Jango looked up at the blue sky, realizing that they were now late. "The sunrise is high in the sky now and that means that Captain Kuro is getting very impatient." He shivered at the thought of Kuro, angry. Jango turned to the crew as a few started to get up. "Men, don't just lie there. You're just going to let them win?! They're just a couple of idiots!"

"In that case, we don't have the time to lollygag around here. If our enemy is strong, then we must become stronger than them!" He said as he pulled out his ring. The black cat pirates listened to Jango as they stared deeply at the ring as it was swinging back and forth.

"Now, stare deeply into this ring. Once I count one, two, Jango, you will all will grow stronger. Your wounds will heal and you will grow stronger still." Jango said as the entire crew fell deeper into his chant. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Aya watched in confusion.

"So what is he doing? It looks weird." Luffy asked. Usopp and Zoro nodded their heads in agreement.

"It looks like hypnosis. He's trying to convince them that they're stronger than they are, like that will work." Zoro scoffed.

"Actually, it worked on Luffy. That's how he ended up on the bottom of the cliff." Aya added.

"Wait, you mean?!-" Zoro's eyes widen in alarm.

"One, two, Jango!" Jango finished. Suddenly, all of the black cat pirates began to let out an inhuman roar and one punched a cliff as it crumbled to the ground like it was nothing.

"No way!" Nami exclaimed, shocked. Zoro, Usopp and Aya watched, stunned at what they had witnessed, as well.

"What the?! One guy just completely destroyed the cliff. Now that's what I call power!" Zoro exclaimed.

"I always thought that hypnotism was a bunch of crap!" Nami said.

"That was just one of them, imagine what a whole crew can do!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Now go! Destroy everything that gets in your way!" Jango ordered. The crew cheered as they charged towards the group.

"Hey you guys, you might want to move. Luffy, Aya and I will take things from here!" Zoro said. Usopp and Nami did so, as they said behind him while Aya walked up to Zoro and Luffy. Aya stood next Zoro but she noticed that there was something off about Luffy as he was just standing there, not moving a muscle, with his hat down, completely covering his face.

"Uh, Luffy?" Aya asked. Suddenly, Luffy let out a loud roar, like a raging animal. Then he charged towards the group of pirates that were advancing up the slope. Zoro watched in disbelief while Aya frowned as she slapped her forehead.

"Aw great, don't tell me that freak hypnotized you to!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Just what we needed, a simple minded idiot!" Aya murmured.

"What is he doing?!" The black cat pirates exclaimed. Luffy was charging straight towards them. They screamed and ran away. But, Luffy runs past the group as they looked in confusion. He wasn't going after them, he was after something else. Jango flinched when he saw Luffy was running towards him. But, the Straw hat captain past him as well.

"What is he doing?" Zoro questioned asked.

Luffy ran up to the Black Cat Pirate's ship and grabbed the figurehead of the ship, pulling roughly on it. Luffy let out a yell and the ship's figurehead was ripped off.

"That's right! Tear it down!" Nami cheered. Zoro watched in disbelief at Luffy's strength.

"He's going to destroy our ship!" One of the pirates exclaimed. Luffy looked back at the crew members with a menacing look on his face holding the figurehead, getting ready to swing it.

"Oh no, he's going to charge us with it. Everybody run!" one of the Black Cat Pirates exclaimed. They ran from Luffy in fear as he was stomping towards them carrying the figurehead.

"Jango, do something!" another crew member shouted. Jango pulled out his ring, swinging it back and forth.

"One, two, Jango. You will fall asleep!" he shouted. "One, two, Jango!"

Suddenly, Luffy stopped, his head dropped. He fell forward bring the figurehead down with him, scattering the pirates and Jango. Luffy fell to the ground with a thud, falling asleep, with the figurehead on top of him.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Usopp Pirates were gathered together, standing in a field, as Onion explained to them what he had seen.

"What? You saw Klahadore heading to the shore?" Pepper asked Onion who nodded his head.

"Yeah, and he had this weird scary look on his face." Onion said, shivering, remembering that look on Klahadore's face.

"What about Kaya, is she okay?!" Pepper asked, worried. Onion nodded his head in agreement.

"The Usopp Pirates are going to find out." He said. Onion and Pepper looked and saw Carrot who we snoring loudly as he slept.

"Carrot, will you wake up!" Pepper yelled. Carrot wood up immediately, rubbing his eye.

"Come on, it's way too early for this." He groaned.

"This is no time for laziness. Horrible things can be happening right now!" Pepper shouted.

He and Onion helped Carrot up and the three boys began to run, heading towards Kaya's mansion.

"Pirates are going to attack the village! I know that Captain Usopp said that it was a lie but I think he was the one who was lying! I think he was trying to protect us!" Onion said.

"Yeah, you're probably right!" Pepper said.

"It was weird. Yesterday, he wasn't acting like his usual self." Carrot said in agreement as they ran faster towards Kaya's house. As the three boys made it to the mansion, it was eerily quiet and there were no guards at the front gate, as well.

"Where is she?" Pepper asked.

The three boys went over to the side of the mansion to a hedge were Usopp had an secret door to get in.

"Captain Usopp always comes through here." said Onion. They tried to pull the block out from the hedge, but it was completely sealed in.

"It's useless. The thing's stuck!" said Carrot.

"Let's find another way!" Pepper said as they ran off to find another way in.

* * *

In Kaya's room she was jerking and twisting around in her bed as she was having a nightmare.

She saw Usopp standing over her as he held a sword. His face had a dark and menacing scowl as he pointed the sword at Kaya.

"Woman, how dare you try to make a fool out of the great Captain Usopp. Insulting me for having the blood of a pirate!" He growled. Kaya shivered as she looked up at Usopp in fear. Her heart thump wildly in her chest. This is not the Usopp she knew. He wouldn't do this. Usopp would never hurt her, would he?

"Y-You don't have to do this, Usopp!" Kaya pleaded.

"What are you waiting for?" Kaya heard voice called out. Her eyes widen when she saw an twisted version of Aya with long wavy hair that looked like tentacles and sharp pointy teeth. What haunted her the most was the luminous green glow from Aya's eyes. She watched as Aya walked closer over to her and Usopp.

Aya smirked evilly as she looked down at the scared girl. Kaya 's eyes widen as her breath hitched in the back of her throat as she saw Usopp kissing Aya. She felt her heart drop as she watched the two of them kiss.

"Stop..." Kaya cried. She could take it anymore. Not like this. Not with him... "Please stop."

"You're pathetic." Aya scoffed in disgust. Kaya flinched. She looked up at Usopp, pleading, hoping that he would help her.

"Usopp...please. I-I Love -"

Usopp raised his sword above his head. "I don't need you." He said, darkly as he brought the sword down on Kaya.

"NOOO!" She screamed.

Kaya gasped as her eyes shot open as she sat up in the bed. She tried to shake off from what she had experienced. She stood up and slid on her slippers putting on her tan coat and exited her room walking down the hallway heading towards the servants. She stopped in front of the door.

"Klahadore? Klahadore, are you there?" Kaya called out. She received no answer. "Hello, Klahadore?" Kaya opened the door and she was met with a horrified sight as she saw Merry lying on the floor, bleeding in a puddle of blood.

"No! Merry!" Maya screamed as she rushed over to him, shaking his shoulder.

"Merry! What's going on?! What happened to you?! Please wake up, Merry! Please don't die!"

She saw Merry open his eyes and she smiled in relief. Her smile dropped when she saw tears in the man's eyes.

"Oh thank goodness. You're still alive. I was worried." Merry said, weakly. He struggled as he tried to sit up but fell back down.

"Merry!" Kaya exclaimed, worried, as she tried to help him. "You have to tell me who did this to you!"

"Klahadore, that's who! He attacked me!" Merry cried. "H-He's a pirate! He's never been anything else."

"H-How can that be?!" Kaya said in disbelief.

"He got close to you just so he could steal your fortune. That's all he ever wanted." Merry explained to her sadly as tears ran down his face. Kaya shook her head. No there was no way Klahadore would do this. He wouldn't...

"It can't be! No! You're lying!" Kaya yelled, angrily.

"I'M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH!" Merry shouted. Kaya stared at the man with wide eyes. For as long a she had known him, Merry was never the type to raise his voice.

"Then...what Usopp spoke yesterday, was the truth!" Kaya said, quietly.

"That's right. And that is what's most tragic. When he learned the truth, he tried his hardest for us to hear him out. But, we were all too shallow minded to listen to a single word." Merry said as more tears ran down his face.

"We drove away the only person who cared about the safety of this village, including you and I!" He coughed. Kaya stared in horror when she saw blood come out of his mouth.

"Someone! Anyone! Help! Merry needs help!" She screamed. Kaya received no response as the mansion was dead with silence. Merry shook his head as he sat up and laid his back against the wall.

"No miss, it's no use. The entire staff is on leave. No one had been here, since yesterday." Kaya trembled as panic started to build up in her chest. What can she do? She had never done anything on her own before.

"Then I'll find someone -" Kaya mumbled, quietly.

"You can not get caught in this. The attack has yet to begin. So be calm and think clearly what it is that you have to do next. Because if Klahadore is the thief we understand him to be, then his goal is your fortune and mansion, then by all means let him have it. None of this worth sacrificing your life over." Merry said, firmly. Kaya nodded, feeling more calm as she heard Merry.

"Yes." She said as she wiped away her tears.

"It's the cruel truth but you are the only one who can stop Klahadore now, Kaya." Merry said in a serious tone of voice. "Can you do it? I know this not your burden but still I must ask."

"Yes, I understand and I will do it. This isn't a situation that I can run away from." Kaya said bravely. "I know what consequences I have to face. I will find Klahadore and I will finish this!" Merry stared with a stunned look on his face.

Back with the Usopp Pirates, the three boys were trying to climb the fence but the bars were too slippery. They see the door open someone coming out of the mansion.

"Oh no! Someone's coming out!" Onion hissed. The three boys quick his as they watched to see who it was, Kaya.

"It's Kaya! She's alright!" Pepper exclaimed in relief.

Kaya was wearing a long tan coat over her blue gown and boots, walking away from the mansion.

"Looks like something's got her really bothered." Carrot said.

"Yeah, walking around all by herself doesn't seem right." Pepper said.

"Something is going on. Something really weird." Onion said.

The three boys followed after.

* * *

Back at the shore, the Black Cat Pirates were scattered all over lying on the ground. Nami cheered, seeing the Black Cat Pirates defeated. She supported Usopp over her shoulders helping him. "Looks like those guys are probably down for the count, don't you think?" Nami asked.

"I guess." Zoro said.

"Maybe, but Luffy is still trapped under that cat, just look!" Usopp called out. Aya smiled.

"Relax he's fine. You should really be worried about your injuries by the looks of it." She said.

"Damn, that little brat! Now our whole plan's been shot to hell. What are going to do with this mess?! If Captain Kuro sees this, he'll kill us!" Jango gritted his teeth as he got up.

"Butchie, come check this out! There's some bad stuff going down!" a voice called out.

"What the hell?!" Another voice shouted.

"I forgot we still have our trump card." Jango smirked. "Come forth, Meowban brothers!" Two shadows dart out of the Black Cat Pirates ship as they kneeled down in front of Jango.

"Yes, Captain, did you call for us?" A scrawny man with a hunched back with green hair and cat ears asked.

"Well, did you?" His companion beside him asked. He was an overweight man dressed like a black and white cat, also wearing a cape and a collard bell.

"Siam!" The hunched green haired man shouted.

"And Butchie!" The overweight man answered. "And together, we are the Meowban brothers, at your service!"

"Butchie, Siam, we must get up this shore. If you'll be so kind as to remove this obstacle immediately." Jango explained to them as he ordered the two to attack. Zoro, Usopp, Nami and Aya watched the three pirates, wondering what they were up to.

Siam looked at Zoro who had an scary look on his face. He backed away in fear. "No way! We couldn't do that. He looks too strong! Right, Butchie?!" He panicked.

"Oh yeah, he's strong, way stronger than us." Butchie agreed.

"We just guard the ship, not fight people!" Siam said to Jango.

"He's right, we're really not the best to put into battle." Butchie said.

"So, they're a couple of pansies. I guess they're not the trump card after all." Usopp said in relief.

"I'm not too sure about that." Aya said.

"Siam, just do it already!" Jango growled, annoyed. He grabbed the green haired man, pushing him towards the group threatening to kick him.

"What?! M-Me?!" Siam said. "Okay, I'll go! Just stop yelling!"

"The guy's crying like a baby. What are they doing down there?" Nami asked.

The two cats ran up the slope heading towards Zoro and Aya.

"I'm a vicious killing machine and I'm coming for you!" Siam shouted.

"Come any closer and I'll cut you in half! I'm not joking, I'll do it!" Zoro threatened. Siam smirked.

"Not likely." He said. Zoro's eyes widen and he quickly pushed Aya back as she fell to the ground. Aya sat up as she turned towards the swordsman.

"Hey Zoro! What the hell did you do that for?!" She growled angrily. Her eyes widened as she saw Zoro clash blades with Siam with his sword. "He's fast!" Aya thought to herself. If Zoro hadn't pushed her out of the way Siam would've attacked her, instead.

"Bastard." Zoro growled

"Too bad." Siam smirked. "It seems you fell for my little ruse." He jumped away standing in front of Zoro. "Are you missing something, not that I would know anything about it?" Siam teased.

Zoro looked down and saw that two of his swords were gone at his hip. He looked back and saw Siam holding his other sword and his treasured white sword.

"Give me my swords back." Zoro growled.

"Your swords? But you already have a sword. How greedy can you be?" Siam said. "Say goodbye, swords! Goodbye!"

Then he tossed the two swords far away from out of Zoro's reach and they slid down the slope stopping half way.

"Damn it!" Zoro growled angrily as he tried to run after them. But, Siam stopped him and started attacking Zoro repeatedly as he slashed at the swordsman. He was moving so fast that Aya couldn't keep track of him.

"Zoro! Let me help!" She shouted.

"No! Just watch those two morons and make sure they don't do anything stupid!" Zoro shouted as he tried to block Siam's strikes. Suddenly, Siam managed to pin Zoro down on the ground as he pounced on top him.

"Butchie, you're on. Get in here!" Siam called out. Zoro looked up with wide eyes as he was the large man jump in the air and was now coming down fast on top of him.

"Zoro!" Aya cried out in alarm. "Get out of there!"

At the last minute, Zoro managed to break free from Siam's grasp and rolled out of the way just as Butchie crashed down on the ground, creating a crater as he did.

"Damn, Butchie. He got away from you." Siam said.

"He's right there. Now hold him tight this time!" Butchie said.

"Careful he's strong. Stronger than I thought he be even without all of his blades." Siam told him.

"This is getting worse by the second! If tubby landed on me, I would've been pounded into dust." Zoro thought to himself.

"I'll get him for sure this time!" shouted Siam

"You got that right!" Butchie shouted

"One sword technique isn't really my forte, but what the hell?" Zoro said as he got up and got into a fighting stance.

"Let's go, Butchie!" shouted Siam

"Right, Siam, let's do it!" Butchie shouted.

"This isn't good! They've got him on the defensive!" Nami said. She looked and saw that Usopp has pulled out his slingshot.

"What are you doing, Usopp?" Nami whispered as she asked the sniper.

"There's no way that Zoro can stand his ground while he's blocking their attacks. I'm going to help him." Usopp said as he closed his eye, lining up his shot at one of the car pirates, attacking Zoro.

"Take this!" Usopp shouted.

"No! Don't get involved!" Aya tried to warn them but it was too late. Usopp had already fired. Zoro looked and saw that Usopp had fired at Butchie. He moved into the line of fire taking the hit, instead. The two black cat pirates saw their chance and slashed at Zoro's chest, creating on an X mark as blood gushed from the wound.

"You're supposed to shoot at the bad guys, you idiot!" Nami yelled.

"But, I did! It was like he moved in front of my shot on purpose." Usopp explained.

"Then why would he do that?" Nami asked stunned. Zoro clutched his wound as he looked back yelling at the three.

"You dumbass, don't help me! Do you want to die?!"

"He was protecting us." Aya said. Nami and Usopp looked at her. "If you actually hit one of those guys, they would have come after us instead." Nami and Usopp gulped as they looked back at the two pirates that was fighting Zoro. They wouldn't have stood a chance if Usopp's attack actually had hit one of them.

"What a guy? And all this time he was worried about us..." Usopp mumbled watching Zoro struggling as he fought with only one sword.

"We need to get his swords back to him. It's the only way that he'll stand a chance against those freaks." Aya whispered to the two. Nami stood and got up. Aya and Usopp looked as she did.

"I'm going to get the swords. If I can get them back to Zoro then there's no way he can lose." She said.

"Let me get the swords!" Usopp said but Nami shook her head.

"Don't push yourself. You can barely even stand up on your own." She said.

"I'll be fine. " Nami winked. She climbed down and ran passed Zoro and the two pirates heading towards the swords. But, just as she reached them, a foot stepped on the swords. Before Nami could do anything, Jango used his ring to cut Nami's shoulder. Nami fell to the ground with a thud.

"NAMI!" Aya and Usopp shouted.

"What do you need swords for?" Jango smirked evilly and the girl lying on the ground. He turned his head back up the slope. Someone was standing at the top. Jango's face warped into pure fear as he let out a screech, Klahadore.

Butchie and Siam stopped their attacks and backed up shaking in fear seeing Captain Kuro. Zoro frowned and Aya as well, not happy to see the butler. Usopp's body began to shake as he hid not happy to see Klahadore as well.

"No! I'm sorry! I can explain all of this!" Jango explained nervously. Kuro pushed up his glasses with the palm of his hand.

"The night has long since passed. Why is it that you've made no progress on the plan?" He asked in a deadly tone of voice. All of the Black Cat Pirates, who had now woken up, were shaking in terror.

"C-Captain Kuro! No!"

"H-He'll kill us all!"

"I-It's all over..." Usopp muttered, gravely. Kuro scanned the area seeing the state of everything and everyone around him. Zoro, Nami, he frowned seeing Aya and Usopp, then glanced over seeing some of crew lying on the ground and the ship partially demolished. Kuro pushed up his glasses as his face twisted into pure rage.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"


	12. Luffy Back In Action!

Jango, Siam, Butchie and all of the Black Cat Pirates coward and shivered in fear as they looked up at Kuro. The man gave off an intimidating aura as he stood at the top of the slope. He glared furiously at the crew with intense rage. No one moved a muscle as they stood frozen in their spots.

Zoro felt a shiver as Kuro laid his eyes on him until the butler turned his gaze towards Usopp and Aya. Usopp quickly hid behind the girl, his legs were shaking as he clenched his fists.

Kuro broke the silence as he spoke. "To think that these brats held you back. How the Black Cat Pirates have fallen." He muttered, dropping his bag to his side. It fell to the ground with a thud. He pushed up his glasses with his hand and narrowed his eyes at the hypnotist. Veins appeared on his forehead and Kuro took in a deep breath.

"What have you got to say for yourself, JANGO?!" He roared, furiously. Jango flinched.

"I thought you said that's these kids would be no problem?" He stammered nervously.

"I did say that. What's your point?" Kuro snorted, pointing his finger at Usopp, while still looking at the hypnotist . "He's an idiot. But, the one thing that I hadn't taken account for, was your inexcusable weaknesses!" He shouted as his body began to shake with anger.

"S-Sir, we're not weak! I-It's just that..." Jango stuttered. He was cut off by Siam.

"You're the one to talk, Captain Kuro!" Siam shouted.

"Yeah, what have you been doing for three years?" Butchie shouted. Zoro glanced over at the two cat pirates seeing them bare their claws threateningly as they snarled at Kuro.

"Very good, are you finished?" Klahadore asked, calmly.

"No! You've done nothing this whole time!" Siam shouted.

"There's no way you can beat the Meowban brothers!" Butchie shouted. Then the two charged at Kuro while Jango tried to warn them.

"Do these guys have a death wish?" Aya murmured to herself.

"Don't! Butchie! Siam! Stop!" Jango ordered for them to stop. But, they didn't listen and still ran towards Kuro. Siam moved his arms to form an X getting ready to strike at Kuro. Butchie raised his claws to slash. Kuro quickly grabbed his bag and tossed it into the air.

"You're not our captain anymore!" Siam shouted still charging.

"We're going to kill you!" Butchie added.

As the two got closer to Kuro, he began to move his feet tapping lightly on the ground moving at a fast pace. Siam and Butchie grinned wildly as they got closer and slashed at Kuro. But, instead, the bag was shredded in Kuro's place. Kuro had vanished without a trace. The two looked around wondering where he had went. Zoro stared, stunned, by the man's swiftness. Then Kuro appeared in front of him, standing behind Siam and Butchie. He was wearing furred gauntlets on his hands with long blades extended on each finger tips, like cat claws.

"H-How the hell?! Where did he-What are those crazy weapons?" Zoro muttered. Siam and Butchie stood in shock.

"Who? Who are you going to kill?" Kuro asked as he crossed his arms. The duo tried to attack again but Kuro disappeared again. Jango watched as he gritted his teeth, sweating nervously.

Siam and Butchie looked around, staying on their guard, trying to find Kuro. Suddenly, Kuro appeared behind them, trapping Siam and Butchie with his claws as the blades caged dangerously close to their faces. Neither of them moved at muscle as their bodies began to shake and tremble, nervously.

"You know, you're right, I'm not as fast as I used to be..." Kuro said darkly, making the Meowban brothers cry. Nami gasped.

"He's handling them like babies and those two nearly defeated Zoro!" She thought to herself. Jango began to sweat more.

"You're very lucky. I'm feeling somewhat merciful. Maybe, these years on dry land have made me soft? I'll give you give minutes." "If you can't deal with the situation here, within five minutes, then I'll kill every last one of you. Now have I made myself clear?" Kuro said and to everyone's surprise he lets the two go.

"Y-Yes, of course! That's perfectly clear! T-Thank you for being so forgiving! All we have to do is take care of this one guy, that's all!" Jango pointed at Zoro. Nami got up and walked over to Zoro's swords.

"ZORO!" She screamed as she kicked them to the swordsman.

"What the?!" Jango exclaimed.

"Hey, idiot! You can't just kick 'em! Those are my swords!" Zoro yelled.

"How about a thanks!?" Nami exclaimed. Zoro threw his sword up and caught both hilts of the two swords and placed the white sword in between his teeth.

"Appreciate it." He mumbled and turned facing the duo.

"It doesn't matter how many swords you have!" Siam exclaimed.

"Even if you have all three. We're still going to kill you!" Butchie shouted. The two raised their claws and charged at the swordsman. Zoro braced himself as they got closer.

"You still don't get it..." he said. In an instant, Zoro swinged his swords forward, slashing the Meowban brothers. They fell to the ground with three slash marks on each chests at Jango's and Nami's feet.

"The clock is ticking..." Kuro said still unfazed.

"Carrying three swords won't help you at all unless you know three swords style." Zoro said in satisfaction as he smirked. The entire crew, Jango, stood completely stunned seeing the duo fall. Usopp watched in shock and amazement at the swordsman's strength, Nami, as well. Aya's body shook, excitedly and she raised her fist in the air as she cheered. Usopp jumped, startled by her reaction.

"WAY TO GO ZORO!" Aya shouted. "YOU KICKED THEIR ASSES!"

"Oh no...this is bad." Jango muttered. "He took out the Meowban brothers with one attack!" Zoro turned to Kuro pointing his blade at him.

"Don't worry I can promise you, everything will be taken care of in less than five minutes." He said as he got into a fighting stance. Jango felt something grab onto his ankle and looked down to see Butchie.

"Please...Captain...hypnotize me.". Butchie moaned as he could barely lift his head.

"Still alive? You do sloppy work." Kuro commented. Zoro glanced over to the two. He froze in shock as his sword dropped from his mouth. Jango had hypnotized Butchie and he was now standing as if Zoro's attack hadn't even scratched him. He was bigger and stronger. Butchie stomped the ground creating a crater.

"Butchie! Kill him!" Jango ordered, smirking. Butchie let out a loud roar and started advancing towards Zoro.

"What? Really? You're back for more?" Zoro frowned.

"This guy means business. If it wasn't enough trouble with his size. Jango just had to psych him." He thought to him.

"This isn't good!" Usopp exclaimed. Aya gritted her teeth then looked over where Luffy was.

"Now's my chance! I have to wake that lazy jerk, while I still can!" She thought to herself. Aya stood up and Usopp looked up at her as she walked over to the edge of the cliff.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" Usopp asked.

"I'm going to wake up my idiot brother." Aya said as she climbed down the slope.

"They're going to see you!" Usopp called out as he tried to warn her. "Aya!" Jango looked up where Usopp was As he heard him call out then he looked behind him to see Aya running over to where Luffy was.

"What is that girl up to? Something tricky I'm sure..." He murmured.

"Everyone's fighting for their lives and he's just sleeping!" Aya growled as she ran.

"WAKE UP!" She screamed. Jango pulled out his ring and threw it sending the projectile flying towards Aya. Zoro's and Usopp's eyes widen in horror seeing the flying heading towards her the twin.

"AYA! LOOK OUT!" Zoro screamed.

"DODGE IT! QUICK!" Usopp screamed. Aya looked back and gasped as she saw the flying projectile heading towards her. As she took a step to stop and to try and duck the object, Aya had accidentally stepped on Luffy's face. Luffy instantly woke up as he grabbed her too making Aya fall backwards to the ground.

"AYA! YOU CAN NOT JUST GO AROUND STEPPING ON PEOPLE'S HEADS!" He shouted angrily. As he finished, the ring flew right to Luffy's mouth as he caught it with his teeth.

"No! How is he still alive?!" Jango exclaimed.

"It's either the best timing of the worst timing in the world, I can't tell?" Zoro thought to himself in relief.

"Luffy!" Aya laughed. "Nice to see that you're up, finally!"

Luffy bit down on the ring, shattering it, but it also cut the side of his lips. "OOOOWWW!" He screeched in pain.

"That brat's back in the battle!" One of the Black Cat Pirates exclaimed.

"THAT HURT YOU JERK! WHY'D YOU DO THAT?!" Luffy shouted angrily as he looked down at Aya.

"I DIDN'T DO THAT! IT WASN'T A ME! IDIOT!" Aya shouted pointing at Jango. "HE DID!" Jango flinched as Luffy looked up at him and he glances over at Nami seeing her hold her shoulder. His eyes widen.

"Hey, what happened to Nami?" Luffy questioned.

"That punk hurt her while she was trying to get Zoro's swords." Aya told him. Luffy clenched his fist as he narrowed his eyes setting his sights on Jango and he began walking off heading up the slope. The black cat pirates immediately moved out of the Straw hat captain's way.

"Luffy? Where are you going?" Nami asked.

"Nami, stay were you are." Luffy muttered as he walked past her. "I'll be right back." Nami watched as he started heading up the slope.

"Now's my chance to get some treasure while they're distracted!" She thought to herself.

Jango saw Luffy heading towards him and he turned to Butchie. "Butchie! Kill him while there's no time to waste! Kill that three sword bastard and I'll take care the freaky kid." He said as He looked back to Luffy pulling out another ring. "Coming for you straw hat." He murmured as he tried to throw the ring at Luffy. The straw hat charged at him.

"THIS IS FOR MY FRIEND, YOU JERK!" Luffy shouted angrily as he threw his fist back and punched Jango dead center in the jaw, sending the man flying back onto the ground.

"You bastard!" Jango groaned as he sat up holding his cheek.

"Time's up, you know the deal. Now die." Kuro said as he uncrossed his arms.

"Hey wait, why is that shady butler here?" Luffy asked noticing Kuro at the top of the slope.

"It's that kid. Didn't he die falling off a cliff?" Kuro asked in surprised seeing Luffy. He was getting ready to move until he sensed someone coming up from behind him. Usopp looked and his eyes widen in shock and he let out a sharp gasp seeing who it was, Kaya. He immediately bolted, heading straight to Kuro.

"Don't ever sneak up on me unless you want to die!" Kuro snarled as he turned around raising his gauntlet to strike.

"KAYA!" Usopp exclaimed in horror.

He jumped in the way wrapping his arms around Kaya, using his body as a shield as Kuro slashed his claws on Usopp's back. The two fell as Kaya landed on the ground with a thud while Usopp was on top of her. Kaya groaned and blinked as she opened her eyes and gasped when she saw Usopp lying on the ground.

"No! Usopp! Are you okay?" She asked, worried.

"Kaya, what are you doing here?" Usopp asked. Kaya turned her head away as she looked down in shame. She bit her lip as she remembered herself slapping him. Her heart clenched in her chest with guilt.

"Ussop...I'm so sorry. I don't know how you'll ever forgive me. I just couldn't believe it, that Klahadore is a scheming murdering pirate."

"Never mind that. Why are you here? Kaya, your life's in danger! I told you to run somewhere safe!" Usopp shouted at her. Kaya bursted into tears.

"I WON'T! Not while you're fighting! I won't run! Look at you, you're barely alive but you're still fighting. I couldn't..." She yelled. Usopp looked at her stunned. Kirk stared with wide eyes seeing Kaya.

"Miss Kaya, this is no place for a lady." He said, softly. "Please leave." Kaya froze hearing his voice. She gritted her teeth as anger began to boil inside of her. She turned to him.

"Please, stop. Don't do this." Kaya shouted. "Stop! Stop this right now! Klahadore!" Kuro stared at her with hurtful look on his face. Kaya stood up as she glared at the butler.

"I know what you're up to. Merry had already told me about everything." She said.

"What's the girl from the mansion doing here? One black cat pirate asked.

"The whole reason that we're here is to murder that little rich girl." said one of the pirates.

"If she's here, then we don't have to go to the village." Another one said.

"All we got to do is kill her right?" One asked.

"What did you just say?" Aya growled. The pirates flinched as she cracked her knuckle. They began to tremble as the twin had a scary twisted smirk on her face. "I don't believe I've heard you right. Why don't you say that again, to my face?" She asked, menacingly. Neither said a word.

"That's what I thought." Aya said as she walked over to Luffy.

"Klahadore, please! If you want my fortune, you can have it! Take it all and leave this village right now! I'm begging you!"

"I'll gladly accept your fortune, Miss Kaya, thank you. But, I want more. You see, simply acquiring it isn't enough." Kuro said. Kaya stared at him confuse as he continued. He made a sickening smile as he adjusted his glasses.

"More than else, what I want is peace."

"You want peace?" Kaya stuttered, confused.

"Yes, just peace of mind. It's simple really. I have spent the last three years earning the trust of the entire village and to be honest, I find this new sense of peace of tranquility quite comforting. When my plan comes to fruition, I will live with the sublime peace of mind." Kuro said as he remembered the villagers smiling faces as they looked at him and playing with the children.

"Yes, the glorious comfort of a peaceful life will be mine forever and ever!" He continued and smirked evilly. "In short, these pirates are coming. And you will leave your fortune to me and die, Miss Kaya! And it will happen..." Kuro said with a frightening look on his as he pointed his claw at Kaya. She stared in disbelief.

"N-No...it can't...I-it can't be." Kaya muttered. She reached her hand into her coat. Usopp grabbed Kaya's foot.

"Run away Kaya! There's no use talking to him! Please get out of here!" He shouted.

"Don't do anything stupid." Aya whispered under her breath as she and Luffy watched. Then Kaya pulled out a pistol from her coat and aimed at Klahadore. Aya sighed. "Like that." She muttered.

"Y-You're not Klahadore. No! You're not!" Kaya shouted aiming the pistol at Kuro. Usopp stared at Kaya in shock seeing her with a weapon. Her hands shook and trembled as she held the gun in her hands.

"Kaya..." Kuro started to come closer to the girl but Kaya raised it threatening still shaking.

"Leave here, right now! Never come back!" She shouted.

"Oh, you point a gun at me? Look at you, you can barely hold it, you're trembling." Kuro replied completely unfazed by Kaya's threat.

"STOP IT! JUST LEAVE! GO!" Kaya screeched angrily.

"Yes, I see. You're all grown up now. Such much has happened in the last three years." Kuro said, softly, removing his glove. Kaya's eyes softened and she lowered the pistol slightly. "Miss Kaya, don't you remember the things we've been through? We've spent so much time together. A year before you're dead sweet parents passed away, you were more than my master. You were my best friend. So much time. So many memories. Together we rejoiced, like family?" Kuro stared at her with a sweet smile.

"Klahadore..." Kaya teared up lowering the gun a little more.

"I took you out shopping in the city, I looked after you when you were ill, and we used to talk for hours and hours." He spoke as Kaya cried with tears running down her face. Kuro walked closer to her.

"Kaya, listen to me. I was devoted to you. For so long, for so really long..." He continued until he was standing in front of Kaya. Kuro reached out and took the gun with his ungloved hand. Kaya saw his smile drop as it twist into a sickening smirk. "I endured it. I quietly suffered so that today I can end your life and take everything that I deserve!" Kaya stared in shock with tears ran down her face, biting her lower lip. She let go of the gun and Kuro dropped it to the ground.

"I who was once the feared and respected Captain Kuro, and to how and humble myself before some shot nosed little girl. It went against every fiber of my being." Kuro said while Usopp shook on the ground seething in rage as he looked up at him.

"Damn you." Usopp gritted his teeth, glaring at Kuro, furiously.

"Do you understand the depth of these daily insults? Can you understand the rage created at the transgression of my pride!" Aya clenched her fists Luffy noticed and he looked over at her. His eyes widen to see her face twisted with fury. He blinked.

Hearing enough, Usopp dove after the gun picking it up. He stood up aiming it at Kuro

"KURO!" Usopp roared. Just as he pulled the trigger Kuro quickly moved out of the way as he vanished then moved behind Usopp.

"Thank you for reminding me." Kuro said. He raised his claws trapping Usopp's face inside, like a cage. Kuro smirked. "Usopp, I owe you for hitting me." He pulled the pulled the bandage off from his cheek. "Let's get even."

"Oh no, Usopp!" Kaya cried as she covered her mouth.

Aya frowned. "I've seen enough of this." She thought to herself.

Aya gestured Luffy to come closer and he did and she whispered in his ear. Luffy's eyes widen and he made a big wicked grin shaking his head excitedly. He picked her up and began spinning Aya as his arms stretched going faster and faster until he let go, launching Aya. Zoro's eyes widen as he saw Aya flying towards him and he quickly ducked as she flew past him.

"If I recall, you hit me as hard as you could." Kuro finished, getting ready to strike Usopp down.

Suddenly, a foot was slammed into Kuro's face. His glasses shattered and broke and Kuro was knocked back as he fell and tumbled to the ground. Everyone gasped and stared in shock and awe. Zoro's mouth dropped slightly nearly dropped his sword. Usopp looked up as Aya landed on her feet, staring at her completely stunned, Kaya as well.

"If you hate getting hit that much, you're about to have a really bad day!" Aya smirked crackling her knuckles. Luffy laughed as he threw his head back.


	13. Beat Kuro! Usopp's Tearful Resolve!

An eerie silence fell, as Kuro laid on the ground, not moving. The Black Cat Pirates, Usopp, Kaya were stunned as they looked at the girl and the straw hat captain who dared to go against the legendary murderous pirate. Zoro smirked.

As Kuro laid sprawled out on the ground, his glasses were completely shattered. He shot a nasty glare at the twin who was standing in front of him with a smug smirk on her face.

"I know you're awake. Quit playing possum and fight me you coward!" Aya shouted. Kaya looked at Aya still completely stunned by the girl's strength.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps as they ran closer. Kaya looked and saw the three boys with weapons in their hands.

"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" The three boys exclaimed as they jumped in the air and slammed their weapons on Kuro's face. Aya's mouth dropped surprised to see them.

"Oh no!" Usopp shouted.

"Stay away!" Kaya shouted.

"No! Stop it!" Usopp shouted as he tried to get them to stop but they didn't listen. The entire black cat pirate crew went pale with a horrified look on their faces.

"Those kids what are they doing?!" Jango shouted.

"Those rugrats have a death wish!" Zoro muttered.

"You don't know what you're doing! Stop! Stop!" Usopp yelled. The three kids stopped as they panted trying to catch their breaths.

"Alright, this time will let you off without anymore brutality." Pepper said.

"This time." said Onion.

"Now, those stupid kids really done it. Captain Kuro is going to be so mad!" Jango shouted. Usopp tensed up.

"Captain!" The three boys exclaimed as they ran over to him.

I knew you were still fighting!" Carrot said.

"That was totally awesome!" Pepper shouted.

"I thought there were no secrets between us pirates. Why didn't you tell us?!" Onion shouted.

"That's right! We're supposed to tell each other everything!" Pepper shouted.

"Who cares about that! Look this is important, you guys got to get out of here!" Usopp ordered the three kids. But, they refuse to move.

"No way!" Carrot shook his head.

"Yeah!" Pepper agreed.

"We have to stay and fight with you!" Onion shouted.

Then Kuro began to stand up. The three boys froze with fear as they saw the scary look on his face. Kuro pushed up his glasses but it shattered some more. He frowned and turned to the kids with a dark look. The three boys screamed and their eyes bugged out as Kuro began walking towards them.

"Idiots! Don't scream! Run!" Usopp yelled.

The three boys continued to scream as Kuro advanced closer towards them. But, he walked past them heading towards Usopp and Aya. Usopp's whole body shook as he got closer. Then Kuro stopped right in front of Aya, glaring directly at her. Aya smirked as she stared back.

"That hurt." Kuro growled, angrily. Aya laughed. Kuro gritted his teeth seething with rage.

"How pathetic. You can't even take a hit." Aya snickered.

"I'll teach you to mock me, girl!" Kuro shouted as he swiped at the twin with his claws. Aya ducked and placed her hands on the ground and she threw her leg up as she back flipped, kicking Kuro in the face, again with much force, knocking the butler back down to the ground.

Usopp gaped up at Aya until something shiny gleamed in his eye. He looked down and saw a coin with a broken chain lying on the ground and picked up, looking at it.

"What's this?" Usopp murmured softly as he inspected it. His eyes widen when he saw that it was a pirate coin. But, it wasn't just any pirate coin, it was one of the nine pieces of eight.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THIS?!" Usopp gaped. Aya turned to Usopp and her eyes widen seeing that he had her coin.

"Hey! That's not yours! Give it back!" She shouted.

Kuro smirked and charged at the twin while she was distracted. Zoro's eyes widen.

"Aya! Look out!" He shouted. Aya quickly turned to see Kuro right in front of her face, with his claws raised getting ready to strike. Aya gasped as the claws came down on her. There was no way she can dodge it in time.

"Luffy, do something!" Zoro shouted.

"Damn it! I won't reach her in time" Luffy shouted. "Aya!"

Aya gritted her teeth, bracing herself. But, the blow never came. Aya was pushed out of the way by Usopp.

Kuro slammed his foot, kicking Usopp in the gut, knocking him back.

"Captain!" The three boys exclaimed.

"Usopp!" Kaya, Luffy and Aya shouted. Luffy turned to Kuro glaring furiously at him. He clenched his fists tightly. Aya ran over Usopp and bent down placing her hand on his back.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Y-Yeah, I think so." Usopp groaned as a wave of pain hit him. He looked up at Aya, relieved to see that she was unharmed.

"Then why in the hell did you do that?!" Aya shouted. "What were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Usopp groaned. His body ached all over. He looked up at Aya seeing looking down at him worried.

"I-I don't know. My body just reacted on it's own. I had no time to think." Usopp said.

Kaya watched the two as she clenched her hand to her chest, biting her bottom lip. Kuro turned to her then looked back at Aya and Usopp. He smirked.

"Usopp, can't you see that you're causing Miss Kaya grief." Kuro said . Usopp and Aya looked up at the butler angrily. "Why by the looks of it, it looks like she's jealous by the mere sight of you and that girl together." Kuro laughed and turned to Kaya.

"Isn't that right, Miss Kaya?" Kaya's eyes widen.

"N-No, you're wrong. " She stammered as she shook her head. Kuro made a twisted grin.

"Am I? Then why are you glaring at that girl then?" He questioned.

I-I...It's not...I'm not..." Kaya's eyes drifted drifted over towards Usopp and Aya. Her heart started to ache seeing them. She looked down clenching her fists.

"Won't don't you shut your mouth, you jerk!" Aya shouted. Kaya looked up staring at Aya. "She doesn't have to answer you! Usopp's my friend and I'm going to pound you for what you did to him!" She shouted. Kuro snorted, looking at the twin.

"You're so quick to defend her." He smirked. Aya growled. Kuro continued. "You certainly didn't waste no time to rush over to that fool." He finished in a taunting tone.

"You are going to pay for this!" Aya growled, angrily.

Kuro smirked then turned his head towards Luffy.

"That's quite a strange technique you've developed there. Tell me something, do you have powers from eating the Devil Fruit?" He asked.

"Yep, I'm a rubber man." Luffy smirked, taunting him. The Black Cat Pirates stared at the straw hat captain with fear as their body's trembled.

"He ate the Devil Fruit!" They exclaimed.

"It makes complete sense now. I didn't hallucinate his arms stretching out like that." Jango muttered. Kuro kept his eyes on Luffy until he spoke.

"Jango!" The hypnotist flinched as he turned to Kuro.

"Sir?" He asked, nervously.

"I can handle these two brats. You take care of Miss Kaya, like we've planned. Have her right her butler into the will and kill her." Kuro said as he brought his claws together. "As for the kids they're an eyesore, eliminate them."

Kaya and the kids flinched. Usopp gritted his teeth, angrily.

"I'm on it." Before Jango could take another step, Zoro pulled out his sword, blocking the hypnotist.

"Stop right there. If you want to make it to them, you'll have to make it through me first." Zoro threatened.

"Butchie!" Jango called out. The big cat pirate jumped high into the air, roaring as he came down.

"Die!"

"Not again!" Zoro muttered as he dodged the attack as Butchie came down.

The cat pirate slammed his foot into the ground, creating a crater, making the earth tremble. As the smoke started to clear, Zoro barely had time to block, as a claw came out from the smoke to strike. Zoro blocked it quickly with his katana but Butchie pushed Zoro back until the swordsman's back was against the wall of the cliff. Zoro used his sword to push the large pirate to keep him at bay. Usopp watched, completely stunned by the cat pirate's strength.

"That guy...he's crazy!" Usopp muttered to himself. Then he saw Jango walking past him heading up the slope. "Oh no, Kaya!" Usopp struggled as he tried to stand up but he fell back down. "Stay away from her! No! No..."

"USOPP PIRATES!" Usopp screamed. The three boys were startled but answered him.

"Yes, sir!"

"I need you to listen to me carefully..." The three boys frowned as they gritted their teeth in anger.

"Look! We're not running!" Carrot said.

"Not after he did to you!" Pepper said.

"We'll avenge you!" Onion shouted.

"Protect Kaya!" Usopp shouted. The three boys eyes widen in surprise. "Don't argue with me. Do as I say this is the most important task there is, right now. It's absolutely critical the you succeed. Take Kaya and get her away from here, just keep her safe. This is the reason that we wanted to be pirates. To protect what's dead to us, so do as I say and run!" Usopp finished. The three boys were on the verge of tears, as well as Kaya.

"Usopp..." She mumbled softly. Usopp smiled, trying not to cry.

"Now go, that is an direct order."

"Yes, Captain!" The three boys cried. They quickly took Kaya and ran, towards the forest.

"He's sure got a way with words, making running away sound brave." Zoro thought to himself. Kuro frowned, noticing that Jango hadn't moved.

"Jango." He snapped. The hypnotist pulled out two rings, spinning them.

"Yeah, I'm on it. Those fools, to think that they can escape me." Before Jango could take a step, he was hit painfully in the back by a small pachinko ball. Usopp smirked as he panted, holding his slingshot.

"Gotcha."

"Damn you!" Jango shouted turning towards Usopp.

"He's not your priority right now!" Kuro yelled. Jango flinched.

"Yes, sir!" The hypnotist replied. He quickly ran off heading in the direction of the forest, where the kids and Kaya ran off.

"Their attempts to escape is futile, we know all too well how weak Kaya is. There is now way they can possibly escape Jango. Though, if you want to help them, go ahead. But, first you have to make it up this hill alive, Usopp." Kuro smirked, looking at Usopp. Luffy and Aya glared at the butler.

"Butchie!" Kuro ordered the cat pirate to finish off Zoro.

"I guess listening to me once wasn't enough. I told you to get out of my way, you giant tub of lard!" Zoro shouted. He kicked Butchie on the shin and sliced through the cat pirate's chest. Zoro tossed his swords into the air and held out his sheaths letting his swords fall into them. Butchie fell to the ground, defeated.

"Alright Zoro!" Aya cheered. Zoro smirked.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash in the forest, making everyone look. Usopp tried to get up but fell back down, again. Kuro smirked. "That is the sound of destruction. Jango's probably tearing the place apart. Go ahead, see for yourself or you can get up." He taunted. Usopp growled in anger and disgust.

"You heartless bastard. Don't you even have a shred of pity. You lived with her for over three years!" He yelled.

"No. I told you, Kaya is nothing more than a pawn in a game that I intend to win. Which instead, then I'll be grateful to her." Kuro replied, coldly. Usopp gritted his teeth, furiously, as he glared up at the butler.

"This guy's hopelessly evil." Zoro commented.

"I've heard enough." Aya frowned.

"We should out him out of his misery." Luffy said. "Hey, Usopp! Go and find the others! Don't worry, we'll take care of this guy." He called out.

Usopp tried to move as he struggled to stand up once again. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain as they twitched as he moved. Eventually, he managed to stand on his feet, ignoring the pain that radiated throughout his body.

"Oh, very impressive. You can still move." Kuro said, bluntly.

"Shut up! You won't get was away with this. I won't let you! You betrayed the villagers trust, not to mention that you planned to take the life of a sweet young girl. This is the last time that you'll ever get your way!" Usopp said as he took a step. But, pain shot up his leg and Usopp fell back onto the ground.

"Usopp!" Aya exclaimed. Luffy and Zoro watched in worry.

"Can't move. It hurts so bad, I can't move...damn it." Usopp mumbled. Kuro laughed seeing Usopp on the ground.

"You really are a riot! So I betrayed them, you say? Oh please, grow up! That was all part of the plan. A village liar who plays with local kids have no business talking like a real pirate!" He snorted.

"Just stay on the ground." Kuro smirked. "Even if you somehow catch up to Jango, he'd end your life with a blink of an eye. Staying there, is what's best for you."

"I-I don't care..." Usopp replied. "I don't care that I'm weak. I'll protect them. I'm Captain of the Usopp Pirates, a brave warrior of the seas, who fights for what he holds dear. I will protect everyone in this village even if it kills me! MARK MY WORDS, YOU WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THAT VILLAGE!" He roared, his voice echoing into the sky.

Zoro, Luffy, and Aya watched, astonished by the young man's bravery. However, the Black Cat Pirate crew snickered.

"What an idiot!" one laughed.

"Check it out, he's crying!" another said. They immediately went silent when they saw Luffy and Aya shot them a scary glare.

"What's so funny!?" Luffy exclaimed, angrily.

"I'll give you something to laugh about." Aya growled. The crew flinched in fear, neither saying a word.

"Luffy, Aya," Zoro called out, making Luffy and Aya turn to the swordsman. He picked up Usopp, putting him on his shoulder. "Me and Usopp are going to go chase down that hypno freak, is that a problem?"

"No, hurry!" Luffy smiled.

"We'll take take care of this punk." Aya replied.

"Hey, thank you." Usopp said as Zoro walked, carrying him.

"I'd be a whole lot faster if I was going by myself, but I don't know these woods. If we're going to catch up to them, I'm going to need your help."

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave those two alone?" Usopp asked, worried.

"Luffy can take care of himself. Aya, as well, I have no doubt about it." Zoro said.

"Hold it!" Kuro called out, stopping Zoro. "Where do you think you're going? Who gave you permission to go anywhere?"

"I DID!" Luffy shouted. Kuro saw Luffy's fist coming towards him as the straw hat captain stretched his arm. The butler barely dodged it.

"Usopp! Zoro! Get going!" Aya shouted. Zoro nodded to her and quickly took off with Usopp, running towards the forest. Luffy tried to throw another hit at Kuro, but his vanished, making him miss.

"Man, he disappeared again!" Luffy growled, irritated.

"At least the others got away." Aya commented.

"Yeah." Luffy agreed.

Kuro reappeared in front of the two twins, a few feet away from them. "Before I kill you both, I feel compelled to ask, why are outsiders like you, butting into this village's business?" He questioned. Luffy smirked.

"Because there's a man in this village that I don't want to let down."

"We made a promise." Aya replied.

"Simple enough. Are you okay with that being the reason you die?" Kuro smirked.

"Sure am. But we're not going to die!" Luffy shouted.

"We're going to kick your ass all over this village!" Aya shouted as she cracked her knuckles, smirking. Kuro frowned. Luffy looked over at Aya and laughed.

"We'll see about that." Kuro said as he got into a fighting stance. Luffy threw back his arm to throw a fist at Kuro. But, the butler vanished and kicked Luffy in the face and Aya on her side, knocking them down to the ground. Luffy got up and attacked, again. "Gum-Gum PISTOL!" Luffy shouted. Kuro dodged and stood on top of Luffy's arm.

"This is boring." Kuro said, bluntly.

"You cocky jerk!" Luffy growled.

"Stop with this cat and mouse game and fight us!" Aya shouted. The Black Cat Pirates cheered as they called out Kuro's name. An angry vein appeared on his head.

"Shut up! Don't call me that!" Kuro growled. The crew members went silent and turned pale with fear. "You still don't get it, you fools. The whole plan of my demise, was so that I could get rid of that name once and for all. I'm tired. To conjure up plans for barbarians who only care about havoc and mayhem. Relentlessly, attacked by government dogs and bounty hunters! I'm tired...I am sick and tired of that accursed life!"

Luffy and Aya gritted their teeth as they glared at the butler angrily.

"And when my plan succeeds today, after three years of planning, revising, and waiting, my goal will be achieved entirely. Will that peace of mind will finally be mine entirely. Do you understand now, you brats? I will not allow this perfect plan, years in the making, to fail!" Kuro shouted. He turned his gaze to the two twins and charged at them.

"My plan will not be disrupted by you two wannabe pirates!" Kirk shouted as he slashed at the two. Luffy quickly grabbed a boulder and blocked the attack as he slammed it in front of him and Aya.

"It would seem that you have more than just stretch." Kuro frowned.

"That's right!" Luffy smirked as he began to crush the boulder. Aya grabbed onto Luffy's shoulders as she swung around the boulder and kicked her foot into Kuro's glove claw, breaking it to pieces.

"We've been toughing ourselves up to be a pirate!" She smirked.

"And know what, if you don't want a reputation-" Luffy said as he smirked, grinning from ear to ear. Kuro's eyes widen. Aya punched her fist directly into the butler's cheek, slamming him into the ground.

"THEN DON'T BE A PIRATE!" She shouted.


	14. Protect Kaya! The Usopp Pirates Efforts!

The three kids were running with Kaya deeper into the forest trying to get away from the hypnotist.

"Is that weird hypnotist guy still behind us?" Pepper panted as he ran.

"I don't know. I can't see him anymore! Let's loose him for good!" Onion replied. "Don't you worry, Miss Kaya! The Usopp Pirates are going to keep you safe and sound!" He reassured Kaya.

She smiled at the three brave boys who were risking their lives to protect her.

"Yes, thank you." Kaya said , gratefully.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash behind them. The four quickly hid as they heard footsteps coming closer, Jango. The hypnotist was throwing two rings as he passed trees, slicing through them, making a path. As the rings came back to Jango, he looked around and didn't see Kaya and three boys. He gritted his teeth in frustration and cursed silently to himself.

"Damn, they're not there." He muttered. "Boys, I'm coming to get you! Do you really think that you can run from me?!" Jango shouted. The three boys and Kaya were hiding behind a fallen tree, staying quiet as the hypnotist came closer to where they were.

"We can do this the easy way, or can I destroy this entire forest!" Jango exclaimed, angrily.

"Woah, that guys is really mad!" Carrot said.

"And he can do a lot worse than just hypnotize people!" Onion added.

"Where have you gone?" Jango shouted. The two boys noticed Carrot was going to sneeze. Their eyes widen and quickly covered Carrot's face stopping him. The hypnotist walked passed them as everyone held their breaths hoping that he wouldn't Come them.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Jango shouted as he slashed through some more trees, walking away. Everyone let out a sigh of relief glad that the hypnotist hadn't found them.

Meanwhile, in the forest as well, Zoro was running carrying Usopp over his shoulder. The swordsman was completely lost.

"Go East! Hey, I said go East, so to East already! This is the wrong direction!" Usopp exclaimed, frustrated, pointing in the right direction.

"Where's East?!" Zoro shouted.

"Turn right!" Usopp shouted.

"But that's where we came from!" Zoro argued.

Back with the kids and Kaya, they still trying to escape from Jango as they ran deeper into the woods. They ran past a fallen tree when Kaya suddenly tripped on a rock collapsed onto the ground. Her vision went blurry and she felt her lungs starting to burn in her chest as she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Miss Kaya!" Onion yelled as he and the other two boys turned back, running to her.

"I'm sorry, you should go on without me." Kaya panted, still trying to catch her breath.

"What are you talking about?" Carrot exclaimed.

"We're under strict orders to protect you!" Onion told her. He placed his hand on Kaya's forehead only to recoil it back in shock.

"Oh no! She's got a really bad fever!" Onion shouted.

"What?! Hang in there, Kaya!" Carrot cried, panicking. "A doctor! We need a doctor!"

"You idiot! We don't have time for that! Someone's trying to kill her!" Pepper shouted, angrily, as he looked at Carrot.

Suddenly, they heard a loud thud as a tree from nearby had fallen, startling the four. "Show yourself, you brats!" Jango shouted as he took out one of his chakram and threw it, slicing some trees, clearing a path. He was getting closer towards them. Kaya turned to the three boys.

"You three have done more than enough and I thank you. But, I want you to go." She said, smiling softly at the three kids.

"Where did you brats go?! It's no use running. Come on out!" They heard the hypnotist call out. One by one, the boys lowered their weapons to the ground.

"If we left Kaya and run away right now, we'd probably survive, right?" Pepper sighed.

"Yeah, probably." Onion replied as he looked down, clutching the shovel in his hands tightly.

"And our captain always said to run with your tail between your legs of you think you're going to lose." Carrot finished, spinning the frying pan in his hands.

They heard footsteps getting closer to their location.

"Those brats think that they can mock me?!" Jango muttered under his breath.

"Then again, our captain is a liar." Onion said as he narrowed his eyes looking down at Kaya.

"But even he ignored own advice. He tried so hard to protect us. He risked his life for us!" Pepper agreed.

"We swore to protect Kaya. That's what we're going to do." Carrot finished, raising his frying pan. The three boys looked at each other and nodded. They placed their weapons over top of each other as they vowed.

"Alright then! Usopp Pirates-"

"Let's fight!"

"Let's do this! "

"Stop this! You're no match for him, you're only kids! You musn't put your life on the line for my sake!" Kaya protested, looking at the boys with wide eyes with fear.

"If we don't want to die, then we'll fight for our lives!" Carrot interrupted her. Kaya stared at the boy in shock and the other two boys. "Just as our captain always says." Carrot finished. Onion and Pepper nodded their heads in agreement.

* * *

Back at shore, the twins were standing over Kuro who was lying on the ground with one of his cat claw shattered. Luffy and Aya smirked. The Black Cat Pirates watched in shock at two's strength.

"Wait, did they just?!" One exclaimed.

"They just captain Kuro's cat claw!" Another shouted.

"That leaves only five more to go." Luffy stated as Kuro slowly began get stand up.

"Don't worry guys he can still fight plenty!" One shouted.

"Yeah, he still has that other claw!" The Black Cat Pirates cheered. "You can do it! Rip those brats to shreds, Captain Kuro!"

"Shut your mouths! All of you!" Kuro shouted angrily, silencing the entire crew. "Soon enough I'll deal with you in only the appropriate manner, extermination. I'll also kill that fool, Jango." He said now standing up, with a dark look on his face. Luffy, Aya and the pirates gaped at the butler in shock.

"He would kill his own crew mates? What a jerk!" Aya growled.

"But, why kill us captain?!" One pirate asked.

"Don't joke around like that, Captain Kuro!" Another shouted.

"Your plan can still work perfectly!" One pirate said.

Kuro stayed silent for a moment, before adjusting his glasses. "This plan is no longer your concern. When all of you are dead, this village won't know who to blame for this atrocity!" He shouted. "I never intended to let any of you hopeless mongrels in this village alive. No one, on one who knows my true identity can be allowed to live to tell about it."

"N-No way!"

"He planned to get rid of us from the very beginning!"

"That's right. There years ago, I planned to erase Captain Kuro and every last person who ever knew him. It's all apart of my plan." Kuro said with a twisted smirk and a mad look in his eyes.

"You guys are the most uncool pirates that I know." Luffy said. Kuro turned to the straw hat captain.

"We're uncool, huh? Pirates are nothing but savages, incapable of resisting their animalistic nature. Without my plans, what could they have possibly accomplished. A crew is nothing to me, they are a simply a means to an end. Crew members are just pawns in the captain's game. Whether my men die is up to me and me alone. If I tell them to fight they will fight and if I order them to die they had better do it. They know the punishment for disobedience." He smirked but it dropped when he saw the two twins glaring at him.

"You sicken me." Aya said, disgusted.

"This is how pirates are! Don't you don't talk down to me, girl!" Kuro roared angrily.

"You know, it doesn't matter how many hundreds of thousands of men follow you as their captain. You will never be as good as Usopp!" Luffy said with a smirk. Kuro twitched.

"You fool. Are you saying that I'm inferior to an kid pretending to be a pirate?!" He asked.

"That's right." Luffy said. Kuro laughed.

"Well, aren't you funny. Don't get all cocky just because you snapped off one of my cat claws. How exactly is he better than me?!" He shouted as he quickly moved, vanishing into thin air then reappearing behind Aya. Just as he was about to strike, he heard her say

"Because he's got heart." Aya smirked. Kuro froze as his claws were just inches from the girl's face.

"What?!"

Aya jumped and spin kicked Kuro, sending the butler flying into the cliff wall.

"A guy like you doesn't know what a true pirate is!" Luffy shouted.

"How insulting. It would appear that you need a lesson in what real pirates are like. It's not pleasant." Kuro made a sickening smirk. "Your first lesson will be about terror. A lesson I've learned well, as I stared down death." He stood up and began weaving side to side. Luffy looked at the butler confused while Aya got into a fight stance. The Black Cat Pirates stared in horror.

"What's the big deal? He's just wobbling back and forth." Luffy asked.

"Get ready, Luffy." Aya warned the straw hat captain. Luffy turned to his sister still confused.

"Get ready for what? He's not even doing anything!" He shouted. Suddenly, Kuro vanished into thin air before anyone could blink, and a purple cloud began traveling down the slope. It passed Luffy and Aya heading directly towards the crew.

On the Black Cat Pirates ship, Nami had snuck on while everyone was distracted and was now carrying a bag full of treasure.

"What a small haul. You know, I'd thought that they would have more treasure than this." She walked over to the front of the ship and looked to see that everyone wasn't moving. "Let's see if they've finished the fight yet." Her face fell seeing the look of horror on the crew's face. "Everyone's just stopped. Is it over?"

As Nami finished, the purple cloud glided towards the crew. Then one of them suddenly got slashed and he fell to the ground, dead. Everyone gaped in horror startled by what just happened as Kuro reappeared in front of them.

"What's he doing over there!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"He's everywhere!" Aya shouted.

One by one, each crew member was getting slashed and fallen to the ground, dead. Luffy and Aya stared in horror seeing each one fall.

"What's happening out there?! People are getting cut to ribbons!" Nami shouted in alarm.

Kuro continued his slaughter on the pirate crew as Luffy and Aya watched.

"Stop it!" Aya shouted. Anger began to build in Luffy seeing more crew members fall as they were slashed.

"DON'T YOU HAVE ANY HEART! THEY WERE YOUR FRIENDS!" He roared. Nami gasped.

She turned to the straw hat captain with a puzzled look on her face. He didn't even care that these pirates were his enemy but he was still willing to defend them? Just who this guy? Nami thought to herself. She stared at him with a soft look in her eyes.

"Luffy..." She murmured, sadly.

Suddenly, Aya was slashed on her arm, then her leg and back.

"Come out and fight, instead of hiding, you coward!" Aya shouted.

"Aya!" Luffy shouted as he turned to his twin. Then Luffy was slashed as well as Kuro slashed the boy's cheek, and the rest of his body. Luffy growled angrily and reached out and managed to grab a hold on Kuro. He flung the butler over, crashing him into the ground. Luffy's hat fell off as he did.

"I've found you." Luffy smirked with a wicked grin on his face.

"You bastard, you should've accepted your fate like a good boy. Now look at what you've done, thanks to you my little pawns are still alive, it would've been better to let them die." Kuro said, coldly. Luffy and Aya frowned.

"So now what? Do you have something to say?"

"Yeah. No matter what happens today, I will never lose to you."

"Someone like you, can't be like me." "You see, you are going to die here today. But first you are going to writhe in agony as I hack you up like a fish. I'm going to carve you up and I'm going to enjoy it." Kuro smirked. Luffy gasped as he saw that the butler was going to use his technique again. He and Aya glared at Kuro.

"No, you won't!" The two shouted as they charged at the butler. But, Kuro vanished again just as they got close to him.

"Damn it!" Aya cursed under her breath. She and Luffy looked around trying to find the pirate. Luffy clenched his teeth.

* * *

Back in the forest, Jango was getting frustrated as he still hadn't found Kaya or the three kids. "Come out, you brats! I know you're hiding! Give yourselves up!" He shouted as he searched through the thick woods, waiting. Suddenly, a white flag came up from behind a giant rock as it waved in the air.

"We surrender! We'll hand her over to you! Come over here and we'll take you to her! Just don't kill us!" Pepper shouted, waving the flag back and forth. Jango snorted as he smirked.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I won't fall for that, you silly rugrats." He muttered as he took a step forward. In the bushes, Onion grinned wildly and pulled a rope in his hands. The rope was tied to a tree as Onion yanked on it lifting up from the ground. Jango's leg got caught in it was he tripped over it.

"Oh damn it..." Jango cursed to himself.

"We got him!" Pepper shouted as he jumped on top of a log. "NOW!" All three kids charged at the fallen hypnotist. Jango rolled on his back to see Onion as he held a shaker and began to shake pepper onto the hypnotist's face.

"Pepper attack!" Jango began to sneeze violently. Carrot charged at Jango and raised his frying pan with a yell and slammed it down right onto the hypnotist's balls. The man let out a loud howl as he screamed in pain. The two kids took off as Jango began to stand up. He looked up to see the three kids behind a giant log as they tried to push it. Jango had no time to dodge it as it came down, slamming right on top of his foot. He shrieked in pain and started hopping on it. But, the three kids were not finished and they picked up their weapons and charged at Jango.

The hypnotist heard them and Carrot and Pepper missed as they fell to the ground. Jango managed to grab a hold of Onion by his neck, lifting the boy in the air.

"Looks like you bit off a little more than you can chew." Jango hissed, completely furious.

"No! We failed!" Pepper groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Real pirates don't kindly to being beaten, by the likes of you!" Jango turned and threw Onion, causing the boy to slam hard right into a tree.

"ONION!" Carrot and Pepper cried out, worried.

"You pretend pirates are in over your heads." Jango said, making Carrot and Pepper flinch. He picked the two boys up and tossed them one by one into the tree. "Rich girl, I know you're here, listen! Unless you show yourself, I'll execute these three brats! And I'll make sure to do it in the most painful fashion." Jango growled as he picked up his hat off the ground, placing it back on it's head. Suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes and saw Kaya stepped out.

"There you are." The hypnotist smirked, darkly.

"No! Miss Kaya, run!" Pepper yelled, worried. Onion screamed as he tried to beg Kaya to run.

The sound of Onion's scream caught Zoro's and Usopp's attention as they heard it not too far off.

"Hear that?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, that's them alright." Usopp replied.

"They're the other way." Zoro said as he began to run towards the sound where the voices were coming from, trying to hurry.

Kaya stood in front of Jango with a frown on her face. "There's no need for that. Leave the children be. I'll write the will." She said, softly and sighed.

"No! Kaya! He's going to kill you as soon as you write that will!" Pepper yelled. Kaya flinched before her eyes turned sad, looking away from the three boys.

"I'm sorry."

"Silly girl, don't you know you can't bargain with me?" Jango scoffed, grinning at Kaya. "Captain Kuro specifically instructed me to get rid of everyone." He shifted his gaze towards the kids and Kaya gasped. She looked down at the chakram in the hypnotist's and hand. Kaya sneaked closer while he was distracted and quickly grabbed it, retreating. Jango let out a startled shout in surprise.

"If you don't do exactly as I say, then you won't get to kill me and won't write that will!" Kaya demanded. She held her head back holding the chakram, dangerously close to her neck.

"Hold on, hold on! Calm down! Don't be so hasty!" Jango stuttered, nervously.

"Stop, Kaya!" Pepper exclaimed as the other two boys gritted their teeth.

Jango stood in silence for a few seconds watching Kaya, before sighing and clutched his hat. "Alright, fine. I'll let the little brats go. But, in their condition they won't be making to much of quick get away."

He walked over to Kaya and took the ring out of her hands and handed Kaya a quill. "Here."

Kaya sat on her knees next to a stump and began writing out her will on the paper. The three boys gritted their teeth angrily as they watched, frustrated as they couldn't do anything.

"And don't forget to sign your name." Jango said as he watched from over Kaya's shoulder.

"I know."

When Kaya finished, Jango picked it up and began reading it over. "And I leave all of my fortune to my faithful butler, Klahadore." He finished with a pleased look on his face. Jango folded the paper and put in the pocket of his coat as Kaya stood on her feet. "This is good. It'll definitely work."

"Now, remember, we had a deal. You promised that you wouldn't kill them." Kaya was cut off as Jango suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her neck with his hand and slammed her against the tree, pinning Kaya to it.

"KAYA!" The three boys cried.

"There! Over there!"

Carrot's eyes widen as he turned his head, with his eyes widen in shock, to see Zoro carrying Usopp from a distance.

"Captain!"

The other two boys saw them as well and grinned as they saw Usopp.

"There! Over there! Get going!" Usopp ordered Zoro, pointing at the hypnotist.

"Okay, I'm going to go!" Zoro shouted as he dropped Usopp from his shoulder and ran, gripping onto the sheath from one of his katana. "That's enough of that, hypno freak! Let the girl go!"

Jango's eyes widen as he turned, shocked to see the swordsman.

"Damn it, looks like I was followed! I guess I better finish off the rich girl quickly then." Jango shouted as he raised his weapon into the air above Kaya's head.


	15. Kuro vs Luffy And Aya!

Luffy and Aya stood still waiting for Kuro to make his move. Suddenly, claws scratched the ground, heading straight towards the two twins. Scratches appeared on Luffy's shoulder and Aya's cheek. The two twins were completely unfazed by the attack as they stood silently. In fact, they were getting annoyed by the cat pirate's antics as he continued to disappear into thin air.

Suddenly, Luffy leaned back while Aya back flipped out of the way as Kuro swiped at them with his claws. Kuro smugly grinned at the two while Luffy stared back at him calmly as Kuro vanished again then landed behind of the twins.

"Aren't you tired? I bet you are after all that dancing around you've been doing." Luffy asked, tilting his head, curious, as he and Aya turned, facing him.

"Why not drop this twinkle toes act and fight us already, scaredy-cat?!" Aya smirked taunting the butler. Kuro shot the two twins a glare.

"Don't get cocky. That was simply a warm-up." Kuro smirked as he pushed up his glasses. "The real right begins now. Soon I will be feasting on your fears, complemented by your sweet cries of agony."

Luffy gasped as he saw the man begin to sway side to side again. Aya frowned as she grinded her teeth, bracing herself for the attack. Kuro vanished as he charged at full speed towards the twins. Claw marks scratched the side of the slope of the hill heading straight towards them. Luffy and Aya quickly dodged out of the way. As Kuro was about to turn around, he saw one of Luffy's hands in the reflection of his claws. Kuro quickly dodged it and ran straight towards the straw hat captain. Luffy shot both his hands and managed to grab Kuro's legs, making the butler lose his balance. He roughly fell to the ground with a hard thud.

The Black Cat Pirates gasped. Their eyes widen in shock as they saw Aya as she pinned Kuro so he couldn't move. She wrapped her legs around the butler's waist while grabbing onto his arms tightly so he couldn't attack. She smirked wildly as the butler struggled to get her off of him.

"Nice try, you jerk." She said. Kirk growled, angrily.

"Damn you! Get off of me!" He shouted as he continued to shake her off but to no avail. Luffy laughed.

"Wow butler man, right now, your life must really suck. Your plan for years, went to complete and total failure." Luffy said, grinning as he watched in amusement.

"Let go!" Kuro growled. But Aya still kept her hold on him. He could feel her grip beginning to grow tighter and tighter the more he struggled. He hissed in pain as he felt pressure on his arms. His eyes widen in alarm. This girl...she was planning to break his arms! Where did this she learn a Marine fighting move?!

Then Kuro screamed as he desperately struggled trying to shake Aya off. The Cat pirate crew stared in shock at him. They have never known their former captain to scream in fear. However, they were relieved that he wasn't attacking them anymore. But, to see him like this, it was shocking for them.

"That weird kid caught Captain Kuro!" One shouted.

"If those kids manage to beat him, then that means Captain Kuro won't be able to slaughter us, right?" Another asked. They crew looked at each other then suddenly they began to cheer on the two twins.

"SHUT UP!" Aya shouted angrily at them.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CHEER IS ON!" Luffy shouted as he launched his head, stretching his neck, screaming at them. The crew flinched.

* * *

"Time to die!"

Jango raised his chakram ring getting ready to deliver the final blow on Kaya. But, before he could, Pepper, Onion and Carrot had manage to get up and were now back onto their feet. They swung a shovel hitting the hypnotist on his back. Jango hit his lip as he held back a cry of pain. "You stupid snot nosed brats!" Then he turned to the three boys angrily, kicking them away from turned back to Kaya getting ready to strike.

"Oh no you don't!" Zoro yelled out. The hypnotist turned his attention towards the swordsman. Zoro quickly drawed out his sword and cut a thick branch a few feet away as the hypnotist stared in confusion.

"Looks like you're one step too late, swordsman!" Jango smirked.

"I wouldn't say that." Zoro smugly smirked then stepped to the side, showing Usopp with his slingshot aimed directly at the hypnotist.

"Excellent, that branch was getting in the way of my shot!"

"What?!" Jango gasped.

"Usopp, you're here!" Kaya called out.

Usopp fired a pachinko ball and it connected right into Jango's forehead, exploding. The force knocked the hypnotist back, releasing Kaya from his grasp. Kaya ducked down covering her ears from the explosion, smirking, as the Jango fell to the ground, defeated.

* * *

Back at the shore, Kuro was still trying to get Aya off of him.

"Let go of me!"

"Just admit defeat already. This is only going to get worse for you." Aya replied, still holding on.

"You idiot! I will not be beaten like this!" Aya clicked her teeth, irritated, by the butler's stubbornness. It was time to finish this. She sighed, gripping his arms even more tighter. She leaned on closer to his face with a wicked smirk.

"Well, you did." She said.

Aya pulled her head back and slammed it hard against Kuro's. Kuro's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell back collapsing onto the ground out cold. The crew stared completely stunned and in shock at the two twins standing next to each other as with the infamous and revered Captain Kuro lying on the ground knocked out beneath their feet.

"That crazy rubber guy and witch beat Captain Kuro!" One gasped.

"If the Marines couldn't, how could they have possibly done it?!" Another exclaimed. "J-Just who are you?!"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy stated not showing his face to them.

"Monkey D. Aya." Aya said.

"The only time a pirate should abandon his needs is when he dies. I would never lose to a coward who ditches his name, betrays his friends, and run from life on the sea." Luffy continued. The crew looked at each other confused. They weren't familiar with those names.

"Luffy? Aya? I've never heard that name before."

"You should remember our names for the rest of your lives!" Aya shouted flashing an maddeningly grin.

"Cause one of these days, we're going to be king and queen of the pirates!" Luffy shouted, proudly. He picked Kuro up and lifted him.

"Now go!" Luffy shouted as he tossed Kuro launching him at the crew. "AND NEVER COME BACK!" The pirates nodded and immediately took Kuro along with some of their fallen crew members without any hesitation as they screamed and cried in fear.

Nami had managed to sneak off the ship, carrying a bag of stolen treasure, just as the Black Cat Pirates began to sail off. She ran over to the two twins as they collapsed to the ground.

"Luffy?!" She shouted out worried. "Are you two all alright?" She took in their injuries as scratches were all over their bodies . Luffy stared up at her with a tired grin. Nami laid the sack on the ground and sat down next to the captain seeing that he was nearly about to fall asleep. Nami's expression softened as she turned her head staring at the ocean.

"I expect you to collapse after what you've just went through." She said smiling. "You did good, Luffy. Both of you did."

"Are you okay?" Nami heard Luffy as he panted. Her eyes widen and she turned her head back to him. She smiled holding her arm. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch!"

Luffy smiled in relief. Then the two heard someone snoring very loudly next to them. Luffy and Nami looked to see that Aya had fallen asleep. She was laying her back with her mouth side open as she snored.

"Well, looks like Aya's out." Nami deadpanned. Luffy giggled watching his sister sleep.

"Yeah."

"Hey tell me, why were you so mad earlier?" Nami asked him.

"Cause I truly hate people like them. They're so wrong. That is not how a pirate should act." Luffy said as Nami listened. He stared up looking at the white clouds in the sky as they slowly drifted away.

"What are you talking about? Or course it isn't. Most pirates aren't as brave and honorable as you make them out to be. I'd say Captain Kuro is pretty standard." Nami said as she picked up Luffy's hat that was lying next to her feet. Luffy stared at her her for a moment before looking back at the clouds.

"I want some meat." He said. Nami stared at him with a look of disbelief. She angrily shoved the captain's hat on his face.

"UGH! YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE!" Nami snapped, irritated. However, she started to break into a giggling fit. What was it about this guy that made her feel this way? She hadn't felt this familiar feeling in a long time.

True freedom...

* * *

"Hey guys, think you can keep everything that just happened here a secret?" Kaya and the three boys stared in shock at Ussop's words as they looked at the long nosed sniper.

"What, a secret? Why would we keep all this a secret?" Pepper asked, confused

"Yeah! Why, huh? We've put our lives on the line to save the village!" Carrot shouted as well.

"Now, everyone will change their opinion of you, so instead of Usopp the Liar, you'll be Usopp the Hero!" Pepper finished.

"Really, Usopp. You need to clear up this misunderstanding." Kaya said softly, making Usopp look at her. Usopp chuckled then looked down at his feet.

"Misunderstanding? I was known as the village liar because I always lie all the time, Miss Kaya." He shook his head and grinned up at her. "They were right not to believe me. Besides, there's no point in scaring people with something that's already over. And I seriously doubt any more pirates, like Kuro, is ever going to show up. There's no reason for pirates to attack our out of the way little village. So listen up, pretend that this never happened, okay? This was all than just another one of my great big lies." Kaya and the three boys stared with wide eyes at Usopp, understanding what he meant. Usopp sighed, dropping his head.

"I won't force you, if you don't want-"

"No, let's do it! I'll do whatever it takes for the good of the village, Captain!" Carrot insisted.

"Me too!" Onion agreed.

"Me, as well!" Pepper shouted as well. Usopp smiled then turned his head towards the blond haired girl who was staring at him silently.

"Kaya, will you tell?" He asked smiling softly. Her eyes softened and she shook her head, smiling back.

"No."

* * *

Usopp was in his house some of the remaining of his stuff putting it into a giant backpack that was overfilled. Earlier that morning he had called the three boys to their hangout to tell them that the Usopp pirates were officially disbanded and that he was heading out to sea. After meeting Luffy and Aya something stirred in him that made Usopp want to take a chance at becoming a brave warrior of the sea, to become a real pirate.

The three boys were saddened by Usopp's choice. At first they didn't believe him as they thought it one of his usual lies. But, seeing the determination in the long nosed sniper's eyes the three boys knew that Usopp was dead serious with this. With a heavy heart the gang bid him farewell and good luck for a safe return. As Usopp left them, the three young boys quietly vowed to each other as they sworn look over the village until Usopp returned.

Usopp closed the flap of his backpack and sat down on his bed. He looked around the room in the house that he had lived in his entire life. He was beginning to feel anxious at the thought of leaving until he looked out the window at the white mansion sitting on top of the hill. He was definitely going to miss Kaya but Usopp had to leave otherwise he wouldn't be able to follow after his lifelong dream. Usopp smiled as he thought of what adventures he was going to have and exciting tales he was going to tell Kaya once he returned.

Usopp sighed as he stood up. "All packed. I guess it's farewell to this house too." He lifted the bag strapping onto his shoulders and struggled to walk towards the door. Just as he walked out of the house the backpack had become stuck in the door frame. "This stupid backpack!" Usopp grunted pulling on the strap try to budge the heavy bag out. The frames of the door began to creak as Usopp continued to pull until it gave loose and broke. Usopp was launched forward and was now rolling down the hillside, screaming, out of control.

* * *

Luffy, Aya, Nami and Zoro were at the pub were they were before with Usopp, eating.

"Now, that we've eaten we should probably get going." Zoro said. Luffy agreed as he patted his belly with content.

"Yeah, you're right."

"There you are." The group heard someone call out to them. They turned their heads to see Kaya and Merry as the two walked over to them.

"Hello there, Miss!" Luffy grinned as he waved to her.

"Are you alright to be out of bed?" Nami asked, worried about the frail woman's health. Kaya smiled softly.

"Yes. I think now I can truly start recovering. You see my sickness was caused by the mental shock of missing both my parents. And Usopp's friendship helped me start getting better. I can't stay in bed forever, you know. You've all done so much for me. I can't thank you enough. I've prepared a present for you from the bottom of my heart to show you how grateful that I am for everything you've done for me. I'd be honored if you'd accept it." She finished. Kaya and Merry led the group towards the shore. They stopped as they started in awe and shock at what was in front of them, a ship.

"A real caravel!" Nami exclaimed, excitedly.

"ARE YOU ACTUALLY GIVING THIS TO US?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly looking over at Kaya with a wide grin on his face.

"Mhmm! As a token of my appreciation!" The girl chuckled, making a small smile.

"It's a slightly older model. But I peddle designed and she sails like a dream." Merry said proudly as he explained the ship to the group. "She's a fine ship and her name is The Going Merry!"

"It's beautiful!" Aya shouted, admiring the ship's craftsman work. Luffy was already eyeing the figure head of the ship anticipating on riding it.

"What a cool ship! You guys see the front? It's totally awesome!" Luffy shouted, excitedly.

Just as Merry was about to explain more about the ship to the captain, Nami stopped him.

"Hold on, you'd be better off explaining the technical stuff to me!"

"Y-Yes, o f course." Merry answered.

"We've loaded it with all the provisions that you might need on a long voyage!" Kaya explained. Aya turned the blond haired girl, smiling.

"Thanks." She said, gratefully. Kaya made a soft small "Don't mention it -" Suddenly, they heard a loud shrill scream of terror. They turned their heads to see Hello rolling down the hill barreling straight towards them.

"Oh no, Usopp!" Kaya cried out. Luffy and Zoro watched as the long nosed sniper was coming closer.

"Hey, what's he doing? Looks fun!" Luffy chuckled.

"Well, we'd better stop him. That weirdo is on a collision course towards the ship." The swordsman said. The two raised the legs, stopping Usopp from coming closer to the ship. Unfortunately, the sniper's face collided with Luffy and Zoro feet as they did.

"Thanks guys." Usopp groaned, painfully.

"So, you're really doing it, you're going to take to the ocean?" Kaya asked, sadly, with her voice slightly wavering as she did.

"Yeah, I've decided to get going before I have time to change my mind. Please, don't stop me."

"I won't. I know it's time for you to go."

Usopp chuckled. He turned to her, smiling. "Kaya, don't be sad about it. Just think, the next time that I come here, I'll tell you more about my adventures that'll sound more like lies than my old lies!" Kaya felt her cheeks beginning to burn and she smiled back softly.

"Good I'll look forward to it." She giggled happily. The two stared silently at each other. Usopp stared behind her looking at the ship seeing Luffy and Aya leaning over the railing as they silently watched the two. Then he drifted his gaze over to Aya looking directly at her. He was definitely going to miss those beautiful unusual colored eyes of hers.

"You guys take care! I hope we meet again sometime!" He said, grinning at them.

"How come?" Luffy asked confused, tilting his head.

"Well, because-" Usopp replied as he raised his eye at the straw hat captain. "Did you become antisocial or something?-I'm taking life on the high seas and I hope that we'll meet again, that's all!"

"What are you talking about? Get up here!" Aya shouted, as she gestured Usopp to come aboard the ship. The sniper stared in disbelief. Luffy smiled as he leaned more closer over the railing.

"We're friends, right? So get on." He said, calmly.

"We want you to be part of the crew. So GET on already." Zoro rolled his eyes.

Usopp stared at the Luffy, Nami, Aya and Zoro in shock trying to comprehend what was they said. Then he felt excitement began to crash through his entire body. Usopp jumped with his fist in the air as he ran over to the giant ship.

"Th-This is it! I'm really a pirate captain now!"

"Don't be stupid, Usopp! I'm the captain!" Luffy shouted as he leaned over the railing.

"Take care, Kaya!" Aya called out the blond haired girl as the ship started to sail off. Kaya smiled as she and Merry waved as the ship sailed.

"Take care!" Kaya shouted, waving goodbye. As the ship was halfway away from the island heading towards the horizon, Kaya's smile suddenly dropped. "Floozy..."

"M-Miss Kaya!?" Merry sputtered in shock.


End file.
